The Romantic Gesture Hypothesis
by KalaLH
Summary: After seeking Penny's help for romantic gestures on Amy's birthday, a birthday massage takes an unexpected turn, causing Sheldon's feelings and baser urges to take over. This results in his and Amy's relationship going to whole new levels. But someone is out to cause trouble for them, Amy falls pregnant, and the baby is in trouble!
1. Chapter 1

Sheldon waited patiently for Amy to answer his Skype call, listening to the dial tone.

When she finally picked up, the image of her face filled the screen.

"Good morning Amy; happy birthday!" He smiled.

Amy grinned broadly. "Thank you."

"Have you had a good morning so far?" Sheldon asked.

"It's been quite nice so far," Amy began. "My mother showed up and took me for breakfast, and gave me a beautiful watch, and the mailman delivered some birthday cards from relatives."

Sheldon nodded politely. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing." Amy's face fell. "I was hoping Penny and Bernadette would come out for a drink with me, seeing as it's a Saturday, and you were asked to work the weekend."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. But I will see you tomorrow." Sheldon said, swallowing.

They chatted a little while longer, and as they ended their Skype conversation, Sheldon got to his feet and hurried over to Penny's apartment.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Penny!"

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Penny!"

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Penny!"

"Hello Sheldon." Penny greeted, opening her door. "What's up?"

"I came to ask for your assistance on a matter of romantic gestures."

Penny frowned at Sheldon, shocked by his statement.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked.

"Which part is tripping you up?" Sheldon asked.

"The fact that _you _of all people, came to ask me about romantic gestures."

Sheldon gave Penny a withering look.

"As you may already know, it's Amy's birthday…" He began.

"Yeah I know. Bernadette and I were going to take Amy for drinks tonight as a surprise, and give her the gifts we bought." Penny replied.

"Oh…Does she know about this plan?"

Penny frowned. "No…That's why it was going to be a surprise, funnily enough!"

"Oh. Alright then." Sheldon looked downcast.

"Did you want to surprise Amy then?" Penny cocked her head, questioningly.

"Well yes, that's what I came to talk to you about."

"Oh, okay well come on in."

Penny opened the door wider to let her neighbour into her apartment.

"Hmm, it's surprisingly clean in here." Sheldon commented.

Penny sighed. "Sheldon, if you want my help, may I suggest that you don't criticize my cleanliness?"

"Of course you can suggest it, but that doesn't mean I won't…"

"SHELDON!"

"Sorry."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Okay, so you want to surprise Amy with a romantic gesture, right?"

"Right."

"Do you have any ideas on what you wanna do?"

Sheldon thought hard for a minute. "Well, I wanted to surprise her with a take out at her apartment. I would take her for a meal, but if I'm to buy her an expensive gift, then I don't think my budget will stretch that far." He said.

"Okay, that's good! I mean, you don't _have _to buy her an expensive gift. It's the thought that counts." Penny nodded, sitting on the arm of her couch.

"But I'm her boyfriend; I thought the protocol was for the boyfriend to spend a lot of money on their girlfriend on her birthday?" Sheldon frowned.

"It's not _protocol; _it's just a thoughtful gesture."

"Oh. Well I'd like to make a thoughtful gesture." Sheldon concluded.

"That's great, Sheldon! I think you're getting the hang of this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing!" Penny grinned.

"Thank you!" Sheldon smiled in return. "Could you come and help me choose a suitable gift for Amy?"

Penny looked at the clock in her kitchen. "Sure, just give me ten minutes and I'll drive you to the mall."

"Thank you." Sheldon answered as Penny hurried into her room to change.

Sheldon gingerly sat on the couch, waiting.

..

Ten minutes passed, and Penny emerged from her room, ready to leave.

She grabbed her purse and keys from the drawer unit by her door, and led Sheldon outside, locking her door and descending the stairs.

"So what do you plan on buying Amy?" Penny asked.

"I don't know, that's why I needed your help." Sheldon shrugged.

Penny unlocked her car and started the ignition, as Sheldon sat in the passenger seat.

As they drove to Glendale Galleria, Sheldon panicked. "What if Amy is out and sees us?"

"She won't be. Just relax." Penny replied.

Arriving at the mall, the two friends scanned the shops.

"Hmm…How about we go into the bath place, and get her a gift basket like you got me for Christmas one year?" Penny suggested.

"I thought the social convention was that the gift needed to be meaningful if it's coming from a boyfriend?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, it can be meaningful if you know what her favourite scent is?"

Sheldon thought hard again. "Hmm…Well, she did get pretty excited when I bathed her whilst she had the flu."

Penny raised her eyebrows. "I heard."

"And we used Lavender." Sheldon scanned the gift baskets until he found a light purple wrapped basket with bubble bath, body wash and body lotions with a purple loofah mitt.

"How much money do you have to spend?" Penny asked.

"Do you remember those un-cashed cheques I had in the drawer?"

"Yes…"

"They're now cashed."

Penny's eyes widened. "Wow! Okay, um…So just the gift basket?"

Sheldon looked at Penny like she was insane. "Of course not. I want to get her a few gifts."

"Hold on, I thought you said your budget wouldn't stretch as far as taking her to dinner?" Penny asked.

"It won't…Once I'm done buying her presents!" Sheldon answered, heading to the cashier to pay.

Penny just stared in surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

Two hours later, Sheldon was back in his apartment, laden with gifts and giftwrap.

Sheldon had found a birthday card for Amy that was Penny-approved, which was printed with a teddy bear holding a flower.

Sheldon quickly wrote his message in it, and sealed it in the envelope.

With Penny's help, he had bought Amy the lavender bubble bath gift basket, a white gold necklace bearing a pendant in the shape of an emerald-eyed koala (to remind her of their many trips to the zoo), a cuddly toy of a Capuchin Monkey (to remind her of Ricky, the monkey she had looked after for a while whilst experimenting on him), some chick flick DVD's that Penny had insisted upon, and the cliché chocolate and bouquet of flowers.

Sheldon had chosen pink, red and white roses because, in his own words: "I know they're the most romantic flowers to give to someone."

Penny had been proud of Sheldon today, and now she was sneaking over to Amy's with Bernadette to give her a quick makeover and give her the birthday presents they had bought.

Amy had been baffled at the girls' visit just to give her a makeover, and then their abrupt departure.

Neither of them had given anything away.

Amy smiled as she looked down at the presents that her friends had bought her; Penny and Leonard had bought her a pretty journal and a makeup set that Amy had wanted.

Raj had bought Amy a pretty, tan-belted mint green skater dress and some tan gladiator sandals, because, in his drunken words: "I think the skater dress will flatter your figure, plus you have a skintone that will pull of pastel colours nicely!"

Amy had loved the ensemble, and been encouraged by Penny and Bernadette to wear it as they helped her with her makeup.

Lastly, Bernadette and Howard had bought Amy a book of songs that she could play on her harp, and a skincare set.

But nothing from Sheldon.

Amy sighed to herself, just as she heard Sheldon's classic knock on her door.

Answering it, she stared at him in surprise.

"Sheldon! I wasn't expecting you; thought you were working late?"

"I lied." He said simply, "may I come in?"

"Um, yes of course." She opened the door wider to let her boyfriend in.

He picked up a large box off the floor next to him, balancing the Chinese take out on top.

Amy laughed. "Wow! What do you have in there? A tiger?"

"No. They're your presents."

"Presents?" Amy asked, emphasising the 's'.

"Yes. Happy birthday Amy." Sheldon handed her the card, which she opened immediately.

"'To Amy, Happy Birthday. I hope you like the surprise and enjoy the gifts which I am about to give to you. Love, Sheldon'…And two x's?" Amy read out.

Sheldon just smiled at her.

"You put '_Love, Sheldon' _and two kisses." Amy said, confused.

"Yes…You're my girlfriend, isn't that what a boyfriend is supposed to write in his girlfriend's card, or am I mistaken?" Sheldon frowned.

"No, no you're right. Thank you Sheldon!" Amy grinned, placing the card with the others, but displaying it at the very front.

She gathered the cutlery and set it out on the table as Sheldon evenly divided the Chinese food between them.

"This is lovely Sheldon, thank you."

"Penny helped a little."

"So that's why she and Bernadette came over to get me ready!" Amy said, the thought finally dawning on her.

"I didn't know they did, but I'm glad they didn't ruin the surprise. Go ahead, look in the box." Sheldon nodded at the huge box sitting on the floor next to Amy.

Amy opened the box and pulled out the flowers first.

"Roses!" She beamed, smelling them.

She placed them carefully on her kitchen counter and returned to her seat, Sheldon watching her eagerly.

Next, she pulled out the DVD's, grinning broadly.

Next was the box of chocolates, followed by the lavender gift basket.

"That's to remind you of the time I bathed you when you were sick. I thought you might like it." Sheldon said.

"Are you going to wash me with it then?" Amy shot a flirty look at Sheldon.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." He agreed.

Amy's eyes shot open wide at this, but she decided to play it cool.

Clearing her throat, she moved on to the cuddly Capuchin Monkey. "This is adorable!" Amy grinned, giving it a squeeze. "To remind me of Ricky, right?"

Sheldon nodded.

Last but not least, Amy came to the box containing the necklace.

She opened it, and gasped. "A koala! To remind me of our trips to the zoo?"

"Yes." Sheldon nodded.

"It's beautiful Sheldon. Thank you so much for everything you've given me. I love it all!" Amy's smile was so wide, it almost reached her ears.

"Allow me." Sheldon took the necklace and placed it around Amy's neck.

He breathed in the scent of her fruity shampoo and whatever sweet perfume Penny and Bernadette had doused Amy with, and felt calm.

Closing the clasp, he moved his hands away.

Amy turned to face him. "Thank you Sheldon. This has been perfect." She leaned forward to give Sheldon a hug.

Closing his arms around her gently, he once again caught the sweet, fruity scent.

He licked his lips and swallowed as Amy broke away from the hug.

"Actually…I have one more present for you." He said. "Close your eyes and put both hands out…No peeking!"

Amy did as she was told.

Sheldon manoeuvred himself between Amy's outstretched arms, and wrapped his own around her, kissing her gently on the lips.

Amy responded, and as they broke apart, she looked at him in shock.

"You know that's the first time you've ever kissed me by yourself?" She whispered.

"I know…Surprise!" Sheldon answered, shyly.

Amy laughed, and Sheldon kissed her again, deeper this time.

All Amy could think of was that this had been her best birthday ever!

As they broke away again, they stared at each other for a few moments.

"So…How about that bath?" Sheldon offered.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I was asked by a couple of you kinky people to write a third chapter about the bathing LOL! ;) So I wrote it! I kept it tasteful and in-character as best I could. Hope it's what you were hoping for! I was originally going to keep this fic purely a 2 chapter one-shot, but it's turning more into a short story now haha. Hope you enjoy. I own nothing etc.**

**..**

"There," Sheldon said, dipping his hand into the bathtub. "It's not too hot, but it's very warm; just the way you like it."

Amy looked at him. "Are you sure you want to do this? I'm not sick."

"I know. But, seeing as it's your birthday and we have progressed in our relationship, I thought we could extend the intimacy slowly."

"You say slowly, but you're about to see me naked."

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Sheldon shrugged. "I won't leer, I promise. Please?" He gestured to the bathtub.

Amy swallowed and slipped off her dress, self-consciously.

Sheldon had seen her naked when he bathed her before. But this felt…different?

Sneaking a glance at her boyfriend, Amy was relieved to find that Sheldon was looking at the floor, leaning against the bathroom door.

Amy slipped into the bubbles and immersed herself so that the bubbles covered everything apart from her neck and head.

Sheldon heard the water settling and turned to look at Amy, who was modestly covered by lavender-scented bubbles.

He noted that her long hair was dipping into the water.

"Your hair is already clean, correct?"

"Yes…" Amy responded, not sure where Sheldon was going with this.

He found a scrunchie on the drawer unit and walked over to Amy, piling her hair up onto her head in a messy bun.

"There. Now it won't get wet unnecessarily." He smiled. "Now…Would you like me to um…to wash you?" He looked at the floor again.

"Oh, you don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable…" Amy trailed off as Sheldon held up his hand.

"Not at all." He took the lavender body wash out of the now-unwrapped gift basket, and poured some onto the loofah mitt.

He gently lathered it up, and began to wash Amy's back, making her jump at his first touch.

Sheldon recoiled. "What's wrong? Was I too rough?"

"No, sorry I just…It just tingled that's all." She reassured.

The physicist continued to move his hand around Amy's back, then asked her to move so he could wash her arms and chest. Amy covered her chest with her arms, shyly.

"Amy, I've seen them before. I won't look if you don't want me to." Sheldon said.

"It's up to you." Amy replied quietly.

"Would you feel more comfortable if I did?"

"Not really." Amy admitted.

She slowly moved her arms out of the way, so that her boyfriend could wash her chest area.

Sheldon was as good as his word, and didn't leer at her or make her uncomfortable.

Amy was beginning to enjoy it, until Sheldon moved further down her stomach…

"No! Don't!" She immersed herself again, hiding her body.

Sheldon looked taken aback. "I've seen your lady parts before Amy." He said in a hushed voice, although it was just the two of them in the apartment.

"I know…But I'd not long had a bikini wax then, and it had healed up."

"So?"

"So…I recently had another, and it's not quite fully healed yet…"

"Why should that bother me? I'm only washing you."

Amy swallowed nervously. "It's not just that…"

Sheldon cocked his head in confusion.

"I feel…fat." Amy confessed.

Sheldon sighed, leaning on the edge of the tub, his chin resting on his crossed arms.

"Amy, look at me."

The neurobiologist looked her boyfriend in the eye.

"It makes no difference to me what you look like, or _feel _you look like. Our relationship goes deeper than looks and physical attraction."

Amy frowned. "So you're saying that you like me even though you find me ugly?"

"No! Let me rephrase that…I'm saying that ours is a relationship of the mind, and of mutual interests, and we are attracted to each other's personality…"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"BUT…I find that I am also physically attracted to you." Sheldon finished.

Amy just stared at him in shock. "Y-you are?"

"Yes. Why else would I have gone out of my way to hold your hand, cuddle you, touch you, kiss you, take care of you when you're sick, surprise you on your birthday, and bathe you?"

Amy nodded slowly. "I guess."

Sheldon resumed washing Amy's legs now, which he noticed were smooth; probably down to a good waxing, too!

"I'm trying really hard to get over my fear of germs for you, Amy. You're the only person who's made me want to try!" Sheldon admitted, looking down into the bubbles. "You're worth it, in my opinion."

Amy fell silent, her eyes round with surprise. She felt the hot sting of tears behind her eyes and sniffed furiously, snapping Sheldon back to his senses.

"Are you crying?"

"No, well kind of. That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

Sheldon just smiled. "Please don't ruin the moment with weeping. You know I don't care for that."

Amy laughed.

Sheldon finished washing her gently, and took her hand to help her out of the tub.

He wrapped the bath towel around her, and pulled the plug out to drain the water.

..

Sheldon returned to the living room to clear away the wrapping paper and dinner things.

Amy changed into her comfy sweatpants and tank top that she had worn on her first ever Girls' Night round Penny's, then padded into the living room.

"Have you seen the time, Sheldon? It's getting late." Amy frowned, looking at the clock.

She knew Sheldon didn't like to be out past his scheduled bedtime.

"Oh. Is it 10:30 already?" He pouted. "I was hoping to spend some more time with you."

"You can stay over if you like?" Amy offered. "I know you don't have your sleepwear here, but…"

"I'm sure I'll manage."

Amy was shocked. "Oh…Um okay. Great! I'll get you a blanket and a pillow."

"Thank you." Sheldon replied.

He had brought the gift basket back into the kitchen, and found a bottle in there that he hadn't seen before.

He frowned, considering.

"Here you are!" Amy said brightly, re-entering the room with the appropriate bedding for Sheldon.

"What's that?"

Sheldon didn't answer her question. He merely stated: "Did you know that lavender has calming and relaxing effects? If you believe in the mass cultural delusion that is aromatherapy, I mean."

Amy frowned. "Um…Yes I do know that. Why?"

Sheldon held up the bottle.

Amy squinted at it. "Lavender Massage Oil. So?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like a massage before we retire to bed?" Sheldon asked.

Amy's eyes almost popped out of her head. Clearing her throat, she asked: "A-are we talking neck massage, or…?"

"Anywhere; although I draw the line at genitalia." Sheldon clarified.

"Okay. Sheldon, I know it's my birthday, and you're trying to treat me, but…Isn't this going too far out of your comfort zone?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all. I washed you, how different can a massage be?"

"Massage is a very sensual activity. It may lead to arousal, you are aware of that, right?"

Sheldon merely blinked. "I'm aware that certain parts of the body, when touched sensually, can lead to arousal, yes."

"And you have no problem with that?"

Sheldon just stared at her for a long moment again, before speaking. "At this point in time, no."

Amy exhaled. "Happy birthday indeed!" She muttered, excitedly.

..

**A/N: So…I tried to keep the Shamy in character again. (God, I love these two! Lol…Am so pleased with their progress on the show too, EEEP! xD) I'd really appreciate reviews please? Also, if you think I should write a fourth and final chapter about the remaining 1 hour and 30 minutes of Amy's birthday, (and of course the neck massage!) please let me know. I may put up the rating too! ;) Thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Amy and Sheldon had relocated to Amy's bedroom.

Amy was sat on her bed, facing the headboard, while Sheldon had pulled up the chair from the corner of her room, and placed it behind her.

"You need to remove your shirt." Sheldon instructed.

Amy did as she was asked, revealing her leopard-spotted Victoria's Secret bra to Sheldon.

He poured some massage oil onto his hand and rubbed them together.

"Oh wow, that's oily!" He commented, pulling a face.

Amy turned around. "Well it _is _oil." She chuckled.

Sheldon was about to rub the oil on to Amy's back, then he paused.

"You may need to remove your…Your undergarment."

"My bra?" Amy asked.

"Yes. Well, you don't have to remove it. You can undo it, that's fine."

Amy turned around again and met her boyfriend's eyes with a twinkle in her eye.

"Or you could do it?"

Sheldon stared wide-eyed at the clasp holding the undergarment together.

"Um…I suppose I could." He stammered, putting the oil bottle on the floor.

_How do I do this?_

As if reading his mind, Amy spoke up again. "It's not hard, Sheldon. You just unhook it."

Taking a breath, he slowly reached out and successfully unhooked the bra.

"I did it!"

"Yeah. Apparently most guys have problems doing that…Not that I would know." She pulled a face.

"It was easy enough." Sheldon smiled to himself, feeling a momentary bout of cockiness.

Sheldon applied the oil from his hands onto Amy's back, and then pressed the tips of his fingers against her skin firmly.

Amy let out a breath. She could already feel what she could only describe as an electrical current running from Sheldon's fingers to her back.

He moved his hands up to her shoulders and applied some more pressure, rolling his hands over her shoulder blades.

Amy felt an immense surge of pleasure.

As Sheldon moved his thumbs to massage Amy's neck, she stopped him.

"Wait!"

"What's wrong? Did I press too hard?" Sheldon asked, concerned.

"No, no, I just felt…Um…"

"You felt aroused, didn't you?" Sheldon asked.

There was a hint of something in his voice, but Amy couldn't pinpoint what it was.

_It wasn't annoyance, and it wasn't anger or exasperation._

_It just seemed like he was smiling as he said it._

Amy turned to sneak a look at Sheldon's face, which now held a blank expression of concentration as he continued to massage Amy's shoulders.

She frowned as she faced the front again.

_Was he, in his own Sheldon-like way, coming onto her?!_

Amy felt Sheldon's thumbs press on her neck again, and she bent her head a little so that he could massage her neck properly.

"Did you know that the human neck supports about 1/7 of the total body weight?" He said softly, bending his head closer so that Amy felt his warm breath on her neck.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Sheldon stopped massaging for a moment. "Forgive me…" He said.

Just as Amy was about to ask "for what?", Sheldon had made a bold move and was dropping light kisses from her right shoulder, all up her neck to her jawline.

Every part of Amy's body tingled with pleasure.

She felt her boyfriend's hands run nervously but smoothly down her sides, reaching her waist.

"Sheldon?" Amy squeaked. "Is what you're doing there purely instinctive or have you been taught?"

Sheldon pulled back slightly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I've seen Leonard do this to Penny many times. While it initially repulsed me, what with all the unnecessary touching someone else's body and kissing them, I find myself _wanting _to do it to you, and it feels…Well, right."

Amy nodded, biting her lip. "So, is that it for the massage?"

"No. We've only just begun…With your permission, I'd like to continue."

Amy nodded.

Sheldon squirted some more lavender oil onto his hands and rubbed them together.

He began to apply the oil to Amy's waist, and kneaded it in.

Working his way up, he massaged all the way up her stomach. He felt Amy tense up, and recalled their earlier conversation.

"You're not fat, Amy." He said. "I love you how you are."

Realising what he had just said, his eyes flew wide, and his hands stopped where they were.

There was a long silence.

Sheldon swallowed, anticipating Amy's response.

"You…_Love _me?" She asked, quietly.

"Um…"

"Sheldon! You just said 'I love you how you are'. You told me you loved me. Is that true?"

Sheldon took a deep, audible breath. "Yes, it's true." He looked shyly at the floor, pursing his lips.

"Did you mean for me to find out this way?"

Sheldon shook his head. "I had it all planned out." He replied, quietly. "I wanted to tell you a few months down the line, but I've ruined it."

"How have you _ruined _it?" Amy was incredulous. "This is better than all of the presents you gave me, squared…Cubed even!"

Sheldon looked up at his girlfriend, his face a lot brighter than it had been seconds ago, and a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"For the record, I love you too." Amy replied, beaming.

Sheldon's eyes shone and he smiled a genuine smile.

The two of them shared a quick, shy kiss, Sheldon's hands still firmly rooted to where he had left them.

"By the way, congratulations, you found second base!" Amy chuckled.

Sheldon blinked, horrified. He recoiled. "I'm sorry!" He spluttered, not knowing what to do with his hands now.

"Don't be." Amy replied, putting her tank top back on, hurriedly, sensing that Sheldon might be uncomfortable now.

They sat on Amy's bed and talked for a long time, trying to change the subject of conversation back to one of their usual topics.

Eventually, Sheldon looked at Amy in the eye.

"I hope you had a pleasant birthday with me." He said, sincerely.

"I had the best birthday I could ever ask for." Amy replied. "Thank you."

Sheldon nodded, just as he felt another sudden surge of courage.

He leaned down and kissed Amy on the mouth, deeply.

The way he had seen Leonard do with Penny, Priya and Stephanie, and all the other girls he had dated.

Sheldon knew that his friends referred to this action as 'making out'.

Or first base, even.

Amy was now in total shock, wondering if the entire day had been a dream. She pinched her arm and realised it was real.

Her physicist boyfriend was now caressing the sides of her body, trying to lift her tank top off again, whilst still making out with her.

Amy made a slight moaning noise, and then broke away, turning to look at her alarm clock.

_00:17_

"Are you definitely sure you want to do this?"

Sheldon just nodded. "Surprise!" He said, shrugging slightly.

"Okay…But, it's not my birthday anymore." Amy frowned.

Sheldon smiled, with a twinkle in his eye. "I know."

..

**A/N: The End! ;) After reading the taping report from 6x14 (and this story being set a long while after that episode!), I figured that this would hopefully be a little more realistic. (And come on, kinky Sheldon; who doesn't want to see that?! I know I do!) Hope you enjoyed this final chapter. Tried to still keep them as in character as possible, and make it tasteful! Please review and thank you for reading! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! So it seems a lot of you wanted me to continue with this fanfic too? I now have two on the go haha, not that it matters 'cause I love writing! Anyway, this chapter contains Shamy kinkiness/smut (I can never resist! ;D) So please be warned. The rating is going up!**

**..**

Sheldon was now laying beside Amy, running his hand up her arm, kissing her passionately.

He began to tense up and Amy felt him start shaking.

Amy stopped.

"If you don't want to do anything, we don't have to." She said.

Sheldon was now looking down at the bedsheets, biting his lip, looking like a lost little boy.

He blinked as Amy spoke. "What?" He asked.

"You're not ready." Amy said, sadly.

She got to her feet and put her tank top back on. "I just need to…Um. I need to go to…Bathroom." She stammered, feeling the hot sting of tears behind her eyes.

She hurried to the bathroom and closed the door loudly.

Leaning back against it, she took some deep breaths.

Spotting the lavender bath stuff on the edge of her bath, she let out a sob, covering her face with her hands.

She should have expected this, so why was she so upset?

_He_ had made all the first moves tonight.

_He _had convinced her that he was ready to go the whole way.

_He_…Was knocking on the bathroom door!

"Amy?" There was regret and sadness in his voice.

Amy froze.

"If you want me to leave, I will. But can I come in first? I need to see if you're alright." He said gently.

Taking a deep breath and wiping underneath her eyes, Amy opened the door.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"If the smudged mascara under your eyes is any indication, then I'd say you have been crying." Sheldon responded, seating himself on the edge of the bath.

Amy stood in front of him, arms folded, refusing to look at him.

"Please sit?" Sheldon asked.

Amy rolled her eyes and sat next to him. Sheldon wrapped his arm around his girlfriend.

"You led me on." She said through gritted teeth. "I know it's stupid, but you gave me all those amazing presents, you kissed me, bathed me, massaged me…Then began to undress me! I mean, what was all that about?"

Sheldon hung his head. "I know, I know. I'm sorry Amy…"

"I know I sound like an idiot, but…"

"You could never sound like an idiot. Besides myself, you are the most intelligent person I know." Sheldon answered.

"Not really." Amy shook her head. "I promised myself I wouldn't get caught up in feelings and romance and all that crap, but since I met you, it's been kinda impossible not to. I mean, did you even mean any of that stuff you said to me?"

"I did…I do." Sheldon didn't take his eyes off hers.

She knew he was telling the truth, so she just nodded lamely.

"I do love you Amy. I've been trying so hard, I just got scared last minute. I've never been intimate with anyone before, and I wouldn't want to with anyone else but you. In fact…The only other people who know about this are Penny and Leonard." Sheldon looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" Amy frowned.

Sheldon sighed. "They are the only other people who know that I _want _a physical relationship with you."

Amy's eyes grew wide. "You do?"

"Yes…I was ready but I got scared last minute. I didn't mean to upset you or ruin your birthday."

"Sheldon, my birthday was over almost an hour ago. It's the weekend, so we can stay up and we can try again? If you want to that is…"

Sheldon stared at the floor a while longer, before slowly nodding.

"I won't push you." Amy promised.

"It's your first time too though, isn't it?" Sheldon asked, "I should be making it special for you, not the other way around."

"Well, it's not written in stone or anything, but…"

"But nothing. I am a man of Texas, and it's the man's duty to take care of his woman…No matter what." He swallowed.

"_Your woman_?" Amy grinned.

"Yes. Even if the man is scared, he must still look after his woman and protect her…"

"I don't need protecting."

"Nevertheless, I'll make you feel at ease. Shall we?" He held out his hand.

Amy took it, but then paused. "I know you're not comfortable and you freaked out last time…"

"I want to. Let's just take it slow."

He led her back into her bedroom.

It was now 1am, they noticed.

Sheldon shut the door behind him and turned out the light.

"I think it would be better if we were in total darkness for now." He said, quietly.

"Why?" Amy asked.

"So neither of us can look at each other's face and back out again last minute."

"That seems fair." Amy agreed.

She sat gingerly on her bed, curling her legs up beside her.

Even with the drawn curtains, the moonlight illuminated the room a little.

Sheldon sat next to her and took a deep breath.

"Are you comfortable?" He asked.

Amy nodded, hoping Sheldon would see her in the moonlight.

He did.

He licked his lips and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

Amy responded, deepening the kiss.

_How do I get things started now? _Sheldon thought to himself.

_She seemed to like it when I massaged her. Maybe I should try that?_

He moved one hand to her back and pressed his fingers against her skin.

Amy took his hand and moved it round the front so that he was now touching her breast.

He pulled his head back in surprise, blinking.

"Back is not a turn-on point." Amy said.

"A what?"

"A turn-on point. Basically, certain points of the body, when touched in a certain way, can arouse you. Like you said earlier."

"So…Massaging isn't a turn-on?"

"Not really. Kissing, rubbing, biting…Tongue action…That sort of thing is." Amy explained.

"So, apart from the obvious, on which areas of the body are these points located?" Sheldon asked.

"Neck, lips, ears, breasts, and of course, the obvious; genitalia."

"Okay; thank you for the clarification."

Sheldon moved in to kiss Amy again, keeping his hand where she had put it.

_She said rubbing was a 'turn-on'. _He thought, beginning to rub his hand against her chest, his lips making their way to her neck and nibbling her.

Hearing her breathing quicken, he realised that he must have been doing it right.

He felt something move down at his crotch, and then felt Amy's hand start rubbing against it.

Sheldon felt his own breathing get faster, and a shiver run all the way from his trouser area, and up through his body.

"Oh God." He mumbled.

"You like it?" Amy sounded surprised.

Sheldon just nodded, his lips locking with hers again.

He felt the wetness of her mouth against his but didn't care about the germs right now.

He flicked his tongue against hers, and in one deft move, Amy had rolled herself on top of him and was grinding on top of him.

_Why did I put this off for so long? _Was his only thought at that moment.

"Sheldon? Did you hear me?"

Snapping back to his senses, he realised that Amy was speaking to him.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said; do you have a…You know?"

He frowned into the moonlight, still breathing heavily. "Oh! No, I don't. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to have intercourse tonight."

Amy bit her lip.

"Don't you have any?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, no; for the same reasons as you." She sighed. "I guess we can't do it now."

Just as Amy was dismounting, Sheldon impulsively grabbed her hand. "No! We can; I will personally go and buy you the morning after pill tomorrow. Please don't stop."

Amy was stunned by the desperation in Sheldon's voice. "Really?"

"Yes. I promise, and I never forget. I'm worried that if we don't do this now, I'll panic and back out again." Sheldon admitted.

Amy didn't need asking twice.

Impulsively, she all but tore off his pants and underpants, marvelling at how big he was.

"Wow! How are we…How are you going to…?" She made a gesture at his penis.

"What do you mean?" He asked, feeling exposed and covering himself.

"Are you aware that your…That you're above average?" Amy stammered.

"I'm above average in many fields. I was also aware that 'down there' is pretty large for the average Caucasian male, yes." Sheldon replied. "Why?"

"I'm worried it might be _too _big." Amy blushed. "And that it will hurt."

"I'm led to believe that the first time hurts for all women. I will go slowly and be gentle. After all, I am the man and I must take care of you…" He swallowed.

"Okay. Thank you Sheldon." Amy took a deep breath and positioned herself underneath him.

"Ready?" She asked.

"It should be me asking you if you're ready." Sheldon said, smiling faintly. "Are you?"

Amy nodded.

Sheldon took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

Blocking out all thoughts, he positioned himself and slowly pushed himself in.

..


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Muahahaha cliffhanger! ;) Anyway, sorry I took a while to write this. Had a bit of a rough time recently thanks to some idiot people, so wasn't really up for writing. Everything is sorted now and they've backed off (I hope!) So here is your chapter 6! Hope you enjoy :)**

**..**

Time seemed to freeze, and so did Sheldon, as he swallowed hard.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked quietly, into the darkness.

"Um…Well, I know this will sound ridiculous, but I don't exactly know what I'm doing." He flushed bright red. "Would you happen to know?"

"I have some idea, but remember Sheldon, I'm a virgin too." Amy replied.

Sheldon nodded. "I know…So…What should I do?"

Amy took a breath. "Move in rhythm with me."

She placed her hands on the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him deeply, starting to move her hips slowly up against him.

Wincing in pain, Amy let out an exclamation.

Sheldon stopped and looked at her with a worried expression. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"It's normal. Keep going." Amy pulled him into the kiss again, and pushed herself further up his length.

Something inside the physicist clicked as Amy enveloped him, and he began to grind in time with her.

Hearing Amy moan softly, he blinked in surprise.

Leonard and the others had always told him that was a good sign.

There was no denying that it felt amazing, and he found himself moaning along with his girlfriend, enjoying every minute.

He also found his hands running through Amy's hair of their own accord.

Their eyes met momentarily.

"Are you okay?" Sheldon whispered.

Amy nodded, unable to speak. She nuzzled her nose against his, closing her eyes again.

His breath came out ragged and deeper as the couple quickened the pace.

Amy's moans grew louder, which aroused Sheldon more, and he couldn't help but do the same.

Amy finished seconds before her boyfriend, panting for breath just as he released.

Both of them couldn't move for a few minutes as they caught their breath.

"That…Was fascinating." Sheldon breathed.

"All my birthdays and Christmases came at once." Amy smiled.

Sheldon pulled out of Amy gently, and caught sight of the sticky liquid on himself.

He winced. "Oh Lord, that's icky."

"Here." Amy passed him some tissue, and Sheldon wiped it off and threw the tissue in the trash can by Amy's bed.

"Oops…I forgot; shouldn't that go in biological waste?" He asked.

"No it's fine." Amy shook her head. "So, icky semen aside, how did you find it?"

Sheldon just grinned, shaking his head. "Just as my friends would describe it; amazing!"

"So shall we make it a regular thing?"

"I think we should. Thank you Amy."

"For what?"

"Everything… Especially your patience." Sheldon said sincerely, bowing his head shyly.

"Thank _you." _Amy responded, cuddling up to her boyfriend. "You really do excel at everything!"

"I know." Sheldon smiled.

..

The next morning, Amy awoke feeling different.

She frowned, and then it dawned on her.

_I had sex with Sheldon Cooper!_

She grinned as she turned over to face the other pillow, but it was vacant.

Amy's heart dropped as she took in the neatly made side of the bed that Sheldon had slept in.

Getting to her feet, she padded out into the living room.

"Good morning Amy!"

She turned her head to the kitchen, where Sheldon stood with a frying pan.

"Oh thank God you _are _here; I thought you'd left." Amy sighed with relief.

"Why would I do that?" Sheldon frowned. "I made us a special treat. French toast. I hope that's okay?"

"Perfect! Thank you." Amy smiled appreciatively.

"I also poured two glasses of orange juice, and first thing this morning, I picked up the morning after pill for you, and also bought a jumbo pack of condoms for future dalliances." Sheldon handed Amy the single pill in its foil.

"Thank you Sheldon!" Amy said again.

She took the tablet immediately, swallowing it down with some orange juice.

Sheldon carried the plates over to the living room and set them on the table.

Taking a seat on both ends of the couch, Amy and Sheldon tucked into their breakfast, discussing their usual topics within their fields of science.

"Oh…I forgot to tell you, I threw away the relationship agreement." Sheldon said casually.

Amy almost choked on her mouthful. "What?!"

Sheldon shrugged. "Well, now that we are having coitus and kissing and touching each other, we don't really need any rules in place."

"That means a lot to me. Thank you Sheldon; you're the best!" Amy leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

Sheldon's cheeks coloured a little.

Amy finished her breakfast and cleared her throat. "Excuse me." She said.

Making her way to the bathroom, Amy pulled out her phone and dialled Penny's number.

It rang four times before Penny answered.

"Hi Amy. How was your birthday with Sheldon?" She asked.

"It was amazing. You'll never guess what?" Amy squealed.

"Hmm this sounds juicy! What?" came Penny's response.

"Sheldon and I had sex!"

"WHAT!"

"Yes, it's true. He gave me my presents, we kissed, he bathed me again, then gave me a massage and then…And then we had sex. Oh my God Penny! It was amazing!"

"No way! Oh my God! I need details; what was he like?" Penny asked, excitedly.

"Amazing! He's not only a genius in intelligence; he's a genius in bed too!" Amy muttered.

"You lucky girl! I am so happy for you! Were you protected?"

"Well…No. But he went out this morning and bought me the morning after pill and some condoms for future use. Oh and he made this amazing breakfast. And…AND…He threw away the relationship agreement!" Amy said.

"Wow! Are you sure this is Sheldon Cooper we're talking about?"

"Positive."

"I am so happy for you Ames! I have to go to work but I'll call you later. Have fun kids!" Penny giggled, hanging up the phone.

Amy opened the bathroom door, and took a step out, grinning broadly, until she bumped into something soft.

She looked up, and realised that she had bumped into Sheldon, who stood outside the door with his arms crossed.

"Oops." Amy muttered.

"You called Penny didn't you?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry. Just don't let anyone else know for now. Only she and Leonard can know. Please?" Sheldon pleaded.

"Oh…Okay I'll text her to tell her that. Why?" Amy frowned.

"They're the only ones that really understand us." Sheldon replied. "Raj and Howard will mock. Bernadette may not, but I don't want her blabbing to Wolowitz."

Amy nodded, texting Penny to tell her not to pass on the news.

'_Of course Amy. I'll keep it a secret, I promise. Love ya :-) x" _Penny's reply was almost instant.

Amy showed Sheldon the message, and he nodded.

He swept Amy into his arms and held her. "Thank you for understanding."

Amy just smiled and breathed in the smell of talc on her boyfriend, closing her eyes contentedly.


	7. Chapter 7

Sheldon practically skipped around the University at work the following day.

He was in such high spirits, and everyone thought that he had made a fantastic discovery or that one of his theories had been proven or something.

It was only when he joined his friends in the cafeteria that lunchtime that it all came to a head.

"Gentlemen!" He greeted warmly.

"Why are you smiling?" Leonard frowned.

"Why not?" Sheldon shrugged, taking a seat and unscrewing the cap on his bottle of water.

"What are you so cheerful about?" Raj asked.

Sheldon said nothing and continued to eat his lunch.

Howard squinted at his friend. "Oh, I know that look…"

Sheldon's expression changed to one of alarm.

"You had sex didn't you?" Howard asked in a hushed voice.

"WHAT!?" The others exclaimed.

"Shh!" Sheldon pleaded.

"So you're not denying it?" Raj asked, lowering his voice.

Sheldon just stared at him, unsure of how to respond. "I won't dignify that with a response." He said, simply.

"Oh the classic, overused cover-up line." Howard rolled his eyes. "That just makes it obvious that you did it!"

Sheldon desperately began to take gulps of water.

"I can't believe you and Amy had sex! Well done Sheldon!" Leonard grinned, clapping his roommate on the back so hard that his water came out of his mouth.

Annoyed, Sheldon wiped his mouth. "Now look! I'm not saying we did or didn't have coitus. And by the way, whatever happens between Amy and me now, or in the future, is none of your business!" He got to his feet and took his tray with him, waltzing out of the cafeteria, into his office.

He slumped at his desk, putting his head in his hands.

At that moment, his phone rang, making him jump.

"Hello, Dr Sheldon Cooper speaking."

"Hi Sheldon it's me."

_Amy._

Immediately, he felt himself calm down a little.

"Hello Amy. How is your day going?"

"Good thank you. How about yours?" She asked.

Sheldon sighed. "Well it was going good, until…"

"Until what?"

"Until _they _found out!" Sheldon muttered.

"Who found out what?" Amy asked, confused.

"Leonard, Raj and Wolowitz found out about…What we did."

"Did you tell them!?" Amy cried.

"No. I was hoping to tell Leonard alone later, but they all sensed my good mood, and Howard being the expert sex addict that he is, noticed and pointed it out. My cover was blown." Sheldon explained.

"Well…What did you tell them?" Amy questioned.

"I didn't give them a straight answer. I came to my office moments ago for some space. I'm so sorry Amy."

"It's not your fault." Amy sighed, "Howard has a keen eye for these things; Bernadette told me. Although the no straight answer probably gave it away."

"Again, I'm sorry." Sheldon truthfully replied, playing with his food.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me Amy. Who is it?" Sheldon called.

"It's Alex, Dr Cooper. I have the photocopies you asked for."

"One moment! Amy, I have to go; Alex has some photocopies of old research papers for me. I will call you this afternoon."

"Okay Sheldon, goodbye…I love you."

"I love you too." Sheldon whispered, ending the call.

..

Amy smiled as she put the phone down.

_Sheldon loved her!_

What's more; he had been a true gentleman about their sex life and kept it discreet, refusing to discuss it with his friends.

Amy was just walking through the halls, scribbling down some notes on the clipboard to pass onto the Primate Lab, when she heard voices round the corner.

Stopping in her tracks, she paused and listened.

"I know right? Have you seen how happy Dr Fowler is today? Strutting around like a peacock?"

"She obviously got some last night!"

"From that whack job boyfriend of hers?" The woman snorted. "Please! From what I heard, he won't put out. My bet is she went and got drunk and gave it away for free to some random guy!"

"Yeah. I totally can't see it being Dr Cooper from Cal Tech! He's a total nutcase apparently. He doesn't love that woman, he just loves himself!"

Amy had heard enough.

She stormed around the corner and cleared her throat, making the graduate students jump out of their skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting your conversation?" Amy plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Uh…No." Jane Murray looked sheepish.

"Really? That's interesting, because I heard every word. Sounded like a conversation to me. Don't mind me being here…Carry on and converse, by all means." Amy folded her arms and raised her eyebrows.

Jane exchanged a look with her friend, Carla Weston and neither of them said anything.

"Fine. I'm guessing your little chat is over then?" Amy asked. "Well, let me tell you something, ladies; neither of you know my boyfriend to pass judgement on him. He is a kind, caring and highly intelligent man. For your information, he does love me, and tells me frequently. Also, I'd appreciate if you didn't make assumptions and rumours about your superiors, especially when it involves our love and sex lives! Now, promptly apologise before I inform your professors of this little inappropriate conversation. Do I make myself clear?"

The two grad students lowered their heads a little. "Yes; sorry Dr Fowler." They said in unison.

Amy gave them a quick, final glare, before continuing on her way to the Primate Lab.

The two students had now gone their separate ways, and as Amy rounded the next corner, she did a little dance, feeling proud that she stood up for herself and the man she loved.

..

Later that afternoon, Amy had just got home from work, when she heard Sheldon's signature knock at the door.

Answering it, she blinked in surprise.

"Sheldon. I wasn't expecting you."

"I know I'm sorry did you want me to leave?" He asked.

"No, not at all. Please come in." Amy invited, letting Sheldon through. "What brings you here?"

"I needed to get away from that apartment." Sheldon shook his head. "They keep on pestering me for details."

"Y-You haven't told them anything, right?" Amy asked.

"No. I kept quiet out of respect for you and our relationship. They don't deserve to know anyway. Leonard has lost the privilege of knowing." Sheldon replied, sitting in his usual spot on Amy's sofa.

Seating herself beside him, Amy frowned. "Penny promised not to tell him or the others, but I will make sure she sticks to it." She whipped out her cell and began frantically typing.

She hit send, and then showed Sheldon the message.

"_Hey bestie! I know you promised not to tell anyone about Sheldon and me, but Leonard and the others figured it out and keep asking him awkward questions. He hasn't given them a response, so please don't tell them anything. Amy x"_

"Thank you." Sheldon said, after he was finished reading.

"I hope this doesn't change anything…" Amy said, quietly.

"No, of course not. Our status is, as it was from yesterday, a romantic relationship with all forms of physical contact, up to and including coitus, included." Sheldon clarified.

"Okay, good." Amy nodded, "'cause you know…Like Pringles; once you pop you can't stop!" She joked.

Sheldon looked blankly at her. "Pop what?"

Amy just paused, frowning. "Never mind."

"Were you using the Pringles slogan as a clever pun for people who have had intercourse wanting to do it again, because of their newfound enjoyment?"

"Yes Sheldon, I was."

Sheldon did his usual breathy laugh.

"Amusing." He said. "So you want to do it again now?"

"Well, I wasn't implying that we had to do it now. I'm quite happy just talking if you want to." Amy replied.

Sheldon smiled. "This is why I love you, Amy Farrah Fowler; you get me."


	8. Chapter 8

That night, Sheldon stayed at Amy's again.

They didn't have sex; instead, Sheldon cuddled her from behind, his arms comfortably around her waist.

They slept soundly like that, right through until morning.

Amy dropped Sheldon off at Cal Tech, and she continued on her way to UCLA.

Sheldon made his way to his office and took out his key.

Rounding the corner, he almost collided with his friends.

"Hello?" He frowned, warily.

"Hi Sheldon!" They grinned.

Rolling his eyes, Sheldon unlocked his door.

"So…You stayed at Amy's again last night, I take it?" Leonard asked.

"Yes, thank you." Sheldon replied.

"So how was it?" Howard asked.

"Excuse me?"

"How was…You know? Ponn Farr?"

Raj and Leonard sniggered.

Sheldon pasted on a fake smile. "Hmm, very funny. I'm not Vulcan, thank you."

"Again, you're not denying that anything happened." Howard said.

"And again; not your business. Now, please leave." Sheldon said, turning his attention to his computer screen as it booted up.

"Oh come on! Why don't you just admit that you and Amy had sex?" Raj said.

"I have an alternate proposal," Sheldon replied.

"And that would be…?"

"You three removing yourselves from my office. Goodbye."

"No way dude! Something totally happened with Amy. She looked a total knockout in that mint green skater dress. If I were you, I'd have done something with her!" Raj smiled.

Sheldon's jaw clenched and he glared at Raj. "Firstly, don't talk about my girlfriend like that; that's just rude! Secondly, I'm not you, and finally; how do you know about the dress?"

"I'm the one who bought it for her. I have a keen eye for fashion." Raj shrugged.

The others stared at him.

"Well, that may be, but my relationship with Amy still has nothing to do with any of you." Sheldon answered, tiredly.

"Oh my God, Sheldon! Just tell us…Did you sleep with Amy?" Leonard asked.

"I _fell asleep _with her, yes."

"No…Did you have sex with her?"

"Please get out."

"For God's sake. Just admit it!" Howard pressed.

"I have another way of thinking about it…" Sheldon began.

"What's that?" Leonard asked.

"Schrodinger's Sex." Sheldon looked up at his friends. "Either I did have sex with Amy, or I didn't. Unless you are the cat –AKA me or Amy - you will never know. Please close the door behind you."

"Touché!" Leonard answered, ushering the others out of the door. "Forget it guys, it's like talking to a brick wall."

"A gentleman never reveals, Leonard." Sheldon countered, as his roommate shut the door.

Sheldon sighed with relief as he sat back, closing his eyes and enjoying the peace.

At that moment, his intercom buzzed.

"Oh what fresh hell is this?" He leaned forward, pressing the button. "Hello?"

"You totally had sex with Amy." Howard's voice came from the other end, before clicking off again.

Sheldon rolled his eyes and slumped backwards again, covering his face with his hands.

This was exhausting.

..

Just before lunchtime, Sheldon's cell phone rang.

He answered it without looking at the caller ID, and sighed. "Howard, give it a rest!"

"Sheldon it's me…"

"Oh! I'm sorry Amy."

"Not to worry. Listen, did you tell Howard about…You know?" Amy asked.

"No, of course not. They've been badgering me all morning asking about it though. Why?" Sheldon answered, feeling worried.

"Oh, okay. Bernadette knows…" Amy said.

"What?!"

"Yeah…She asked me about it, but I didn't tell her."

"Well I haven't told anyone anything, I promise. Did Penny tell her?"

"No. I asked her, and she said no straight away and that she had sworn to secrecy. She was just as shocked as me when I discussed it with her."

Sheldon closed his eyes.

"I bet Howard told her anyway after he sniffed out my odd behaviour yesterday." He grumbled.

"Look, do you think maybe its best we just tell everyone tonight when we all meet up? Maybe it will get them off our backs." Amy suggested.

"You may be right." Sheldon agreed. "I was hoping to keep this private, but clearly that is an impossible task."

"Okay, so I'll see you tonight. Love you." Amy said.

"Love you too." Sheldon ended the call.

..

That evening as Sheldon sat in his spot and made room for Amy next to him, he put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

This gained some whispering amongst the group, who were dishing out their food in the kitchen.

Penny looked at the sympathetically and leaned forward. "Are you okay?" She whispered.

Amy nodded.

"Yes, although I am regretting this decision already." Sheldon replied.

"If anyone makes fun, I'll hogtie them." Penny winked.

"Thank you."

As everyone sat down, they all looked at Sheldon and Amy expectantly.

"So…You had something you wanted to say, Dr Stud Muffin?" Howard joked.

"Howie, stop it!" Bernadette scolded. "Go on, Sheldon."

Sheldon took a deep breath and got to his feet, clearing his throat. "This may come as a great shock to you…But as seeing as you are all so desperate to know; Amy and I engaged in coitus the night of her birthday."

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU?" Howard said, triumphantly, looking around the room.

Leonard and Raj chuckled.

Bernadette looked annoyed at the guys, and Penny just glared.

"Now you know, let's leave it at that shall we?" Sheldon finished, sitting back down and lacing his fingers through Amy's.

"Ohhh no, no, no! We need details!" Raj laughed, sipping his beer.

"No you really don't." Amy responded.

"Have you guys made it a regular thing?" Howard asked.

Sheldon sighed. "Yes, we have. I tore up The Relationship Agreement."

The entire room gasped, except for Penny, who continued to eat her food.

Leonard almost fell off his chair. "You did w_hat?!_"

"Yep; tore it up. We don't need it anymore." Sheldon said.

"So…if you're having sex now, does that mean we can tear up The Roommate Agreement too?" Leonard asked hopefully.

Sheldon snorted. "Don't count on it, my good man."

"So Amy, what was he like?" Howard changed the subject.

Amy gave Howard a disgusted look.

"Okay, that's enough. Leave them alone!" Penny stepped in. "If anyone has a problem with these two moving on in their relationship, you can go through me first. Got it?" She looked menacingly around the room at the three other guys, who suddenly paled and nodded.

"Good!" Penny smiled.

The entire room fell silent for a while.

"You'll never guess what I saw on the Discovery Channel last night?" Raj piped up. "Apparently male porcupines pee in the female's face before mating. Sheldon, could that be why you're acting so…prickly?"

Everyone erupted into laughter, except for Amy, Sheldon and Penny, who just bit her lip.

Sheldon glared at Raj.

"Fine. You leave me no choice." He took Amy's hand and they got to their feet. "Amy and I are going to go and have intercourse right now."

He led Amy to his bedroom and slammed the door.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Penny shook her head.

"I couldn't help myself." Raj laughed.

..

"Are we really going to do this?" Amy asked quietly.

"Well…If you want to." Sheldon replied, feeling nervous now.

Amy moved closer to him. "I know you're worried, but we have done it before and it won't be that much different." She kissed him, and ran her hands up his body.

Sheldon felt tingly, like an electric current was coursing through him.

Feeling his pants get tighter, he looked at her. "No, no, that's good…You know I hate change!"

"You know Sheldon, if they want to talk, maybe we should give them something to talk about!" Amy hinted.

"Oh?" He swallowed.

"Yes. We will make it the performance of a lifetime; they will never want to ask about our sex life again!"

Sheldon considered for a moment. "Alright. Proposal accepted!" He smiled, impishly, moving forward to kiss Amy and fall with her on to the bed…


	9. Chapter 9

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

Penny answered the door the following afternoon to greet Sheldon.

"Hey Sheldon, what's up?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping Amy and I out last night, and for keeping our carnal relationship secret until we were ready to tell everyone ourselves." Sheldon said.

He reached out and timidly patted her on the head. "Good Penny."

Penny frowned, looking at Sheldon like he was crazy.

"That's okay, Sheldon." She smiled warmly. "You know, you're handling this all really well, Sheldon."

He smiled shyly. "Yes, well…It was bound to happen one day."

"So, you're serious with Amy now?" Penny pressed.

Sheldon nodded, then looked around. "May I come in and speak to you in private?"

"Um…Sure." Penny invited him in, and then closed the door. "What's up?"

"You know I have been…Fond…Of Amy for a very long time?" Sheldon began.

"Yes?"

"Well…I believe that the chemicals in my brain are causing me to have deeper feelings for her, which are in turn causing me to happily partake in, and even initiate, physical contact up to and including sex. Also, I believe these chemicals are causing me to care more about her wellbeing and her in general." Sheldon said.

There was a pause as Penny's eyes widened and she stared at her neighbour. "Are you saying that you're in love with Amy?"

Sheldon shifted uncomfortably. "Um…"

"You are, aren't you?!"

"Yeah." Sheldon answered quietly, looking at the floor.

"Oh my God!" Penny threw her hands up to her mouth in shock, smiling through them.

"Am I disrupting your prayers again?" Sheldon frowned.

"No; I don't pray. Oh wow, Sheldon! This is huge!" Penny exclaimed.

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is! You have to tell her."

"I already have on numerous occasions." Sheldon confessed.

At this point, Penny squealed. "Aww! Dr Cooper's in loooove!" She sang.

"Shh!" Sheldon shushed her. "If the others find out, that will just give them more reason to mock us."

"No it won't. They'll be proud of you! They're your friends. Guys just get silly over sex, you know that. Love is totally different." Penny responded.

"You think I should tell them?"

"Definitely."

Sheldon took a breath. "Would you come with me? You were practically a saviour to Amy and me last night. They wouldn't dare mock me with you around."

"Okay. Let's go!" Penny agreed.

..

Sheldon let himself into his apartment with his blonde neighbour in tow, and found Leonard, Howard and Raj playing Klingon Boggle.

Sheldon cleared his throat. "I have something to say."

"Whatever we're doing wrong, just hurry up and tell us so we can finish our game." Leonard sighed.

"It's not that…It's regarding Amy and me."

"Yeah, we already know. You finally got laid, that's old news now. It was funny at first, but we're over it." Raj answered, scribbling some words down.

"It's not that either…Well, not so much." Sheldon said.

That got their attention.

The three friends looked round expectantly.

"It has become apparent to me that…" He took a deep breath, "That I am in love with Amy Farrah Fowler."

"You're _in _love with me?"

Sheldon spun around, to reveal Amy and Bernadette at the door of the apartment.

"We came to call on Penny, and noticed the door was open and she was in here." Bernadette explained.

Sheldon didn't answer, he just stared at Amy.

"I…I thought I told you?" Was all he could say.

"Well, you said you _loved _me. Love and In Love are two totally different things." Amy answered.

"How so?"

"Love is a strong feeling for someone, like family or a new girlfriend or boyfriend that you haven't been with for long, and In Love is an even stronger feeling, where you can't even imagine your life without them and you would do anything and you…You just are in love with them." Amy explained.

"Oh. Then yes, I am the second one." Sheldon nodded.

Amy ran forward and flung her arms around her boyfriend, almost knocking him over.

He gingerly hugged her back, and then felt comfortable enough to hold her tighter.

"I'm happy for you, Sheldon. This is a big thing to admit!" Leonard smiled at his friend.

Raj and Howard nodded in agreement.

"Good for you Sheldon."

"That's adorable, man!"

"I've been in love with you for about a year." Amy confessed, leaning back to look her boyfriend in the eyes.

He blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Amy nodded.

"Interesting. So it would appear that we felt these feelings around the same time?" Sheldon pondered.

"So…Are you going to get married, like me and Howie?" Bernadette asked, taking her husband's hand as she sat on the arm of the couch.

Sheldon spluttered as he looked at her with wide eyes. "What? I…We…I don't…"

"Not yet." Amy answered for him. "But I am hoping we will one day."

Now Sheldon was staring at her instead. "You do?!"

"Well…Uh…"

"We have only been in this relationship a little over two years; a majority of which, we spent just courting! Engagement is a long way off, let alone marriage. If at all." Sheldon stammered.

Amy felt like she had been slapped.

"W…What?"

"Amy, I really do love you, but that's a pretty big step!" Sheldon lowered his voice. "It's much too soon to be thinking about that. I don't even know if I want to marry."

Amy shakily moved backwards towards the door. "I see…Well, it was nice seeing you all. I'm going to head back home now, I have a headache. Bye." She scurried out of the door, and began to descend the stairs.

Sheldon raced after her.

"Amy, stop! Did I say something wrong?" He called.

"No, no I needed to hear that. Maybe now I can stop kidding myself." She replied.

Sheldon caught up with her and wiggled past, standing in front of her.

"Are you crying?" He asked.

Amy wiped her eyes. "Dust allergy." She answered, looking down and attempting to push past Sheldon.

"Wait! Are you upset about my views on marriage?" Sheldon asked.

Amy sighed. "Yes, Sheldon! I am distraught. When you said you were in love with me, I thought that was it."

"But I am in love with you. I probably will ask you one day. Why can't we just enjoy where we are right now?"

"Because we are now both over 30, and aren't even engaged! We have been together for over two years, almost three! I thought I could maybe convince you slowly, I even had a five year plan!" Amy wept.

"Please don't cry. It's just that I watched my parents' marriage implode. My father was an abusive alcoholic. He was violent and verbally abusive to my mother, and to us! I don't want to turn out to be like him if I ever marry you." Sheldon confessed.

Amy softened. "Really?"

"Yes. Plus, we only just lost our virginity to each other and started canoodling."

"_Canoodling!?_"

"You know, kissing, touching…"

"I know what it means, Sheldon! Canoodling is for teenagers! We are adults; we are scientists! I have waited for this my entire life, and the entirety of our relationship! I always thought it was an expression of love, not just a quick grope and a make-out session! You make it sound so sleazy!" Amy shouted, trying to push past again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You know I am no good at expressing my feelings." Sheldon tried.

"You did a damn good job at expressing your feelings about marriage!" Amy threw back.

"I'm not saying I never will…"

"Yeah? It sure sounds like it to me. By the way, that was sarcasm!"

"Amy, I'm sorry. Can we just enjoy where we are now?"

Amy sighed, and lowered her voice. "You know what? I would in any other circumstance. I would have relished in the thought of nothing but enjoying where we are in our relationship. Just minutes ago, I was ecstatic! Until we got on the subject of marriage…If that had never happened, maybe I could have fooled myself a little longer." She sniffed as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Sheldon reached out to wipe it away, but Amy swatted his hand away.

"No! Now I know that there is next to no hope for our future, I can't kid myself anymore." She swallowed, as more tears rolled down her face.

Sheldon shook his head slowly. "Amy…Don't…Please."

"I'm sorry Sheldon. I love you so, so much but I can't be with someone who can't see a future with me. I waited my whole life for this. I'm sorry." She sobbed, putting a hand to her mouth and finally pushed past a helpless-looking Sheldon, and bolted down the stairs.

Sheldon felt too numb to run after her.

"Amy? Amy, come back!" He called, sadly.

Nothing.

He swallowed a massive lump in his throat as hot tears stung his eyes.

What was happening?

He felt a surge of emotion, and dragged himself back up the stairs to his apartment, letting himself in.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Sheldon, can you please remind Howard that Kreplach isn't a Klingon word?" Leonard spoke up, but then seeing Sheldon's pale face and red-rimmed eyes staring into space, he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Sheldon couldn't speak for a moment.

The lump in his throat came back, disabling him from talking.

He swallowed again, and then looked up at his group of friends, his vision blurring slightly, and a heavy ache in his chest.

"Amy broke up with me." He muttered.

He didn't see the looks of shock on his friends' faces, as he involuntarily and abruptly burst into tears.

..

**A/N: Sad times…Again, sorry for the cliffhanger. Don't worry too much; I'm not mean enough to keep our beloved Shamy apart forever ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

Sheldon had tearfully explained what had happened, and the group had all tried to hug him, but he wouldn't allow it.

"No. The only person I will ever let near me that way is Amy, and now she's gone." He had wept.

Bernadette felt so guilty for bringing up the subject of marriage and had apologised to Sheldon.

He shook his head.

"It was my own fault. I should have told her I would marry her one day."

"Sheldon…If you're not ready, you're not ready. Nobody can make you." Penny had reassured. "You know, like with me and Leonard. He's waiting until I'm ready now."

"That's the thing; I don't _know_! I wouldn't want to mistreat her like my father did to my mother and his own children. He was abusive right up to the day he died. I hate him. I could never do that to Amy." Sheldon said quietly.

"Is that where your fear came from?" Leonard asked softly.

Sheldon nodded. "He's mainly the reason I am repulsed by relationships. He cheated on my mother too. What if I turn out like him? Not only that but I have only just progressed to this stage in what was our relationship, and that was hard enough…Now…" He cut off, the tears rolling down his face.

He wiped his eyes and stood up. "I need to be alone."

Sheldon hurried to his room and slammed the door.

The entire living room fell silent.

"I feel terrible." Bernadette said, quietly. "If I had never brought it up, this wouldn't have happened."

"It isn't your fault, Bernadette. Sheldon doesn't blame you; none of us do." Leonard soothed.

Howard, Bernadette and Raj thought it was best that they leave, so they gathered their things and said their goodbyes.

"I'm going to go to Amy's tonight and look after her, if you and Raj want to hang out." Bernadette said to Howard, as they walked out of the door.

It was just Leonard and Penny left in the apartment now, silently sitting on the couch, heads down.

"I really didn't expect this." Leonard sighed.

"Nobody did. Should we go talk to him?" Penny asked.

"I'll talk to him." Leonard offered, getting to his feet.

Leonard knocked on Sheldon's bedroom door.

There was no answer, but Leonard could hear soft sobbing from the inside.

Letting himself in, Leonard peered at the darkened room, and could just make out the silhouette of Sheldon curled in the foetal position on his bed.

"Hey buddy," Leonard said softly.

Sheldon ignored him.

Taking a few steps into the room, Leonard took a breath.

"I don't think Amy meant it, Sheldon."

"She did." Was Sheldon's tearful response.

"I doubt it. She loves you too much. I know you're feeling hurt right now, but…"

"Yes I am; physically hurt. I have a headache, a lump in my throat, this horrible, dull ache in my chest, and I keep involuntarily crying. My thoughts are muddled…I guess this is what people refer to as heartbreak." He began to sob again.

Leonard moved closer and patted his roommate on the shoulder, gently.

"Call her, Sheldon. Maybe she's already regretting it, and is too scared to call you in case you are angry at her or tell her to leave you alone." Leonard said.

"I'll try…" Sheldon wiped his eyes again and picked up his cell phone, typing in Amy's number.

He waited and waited, until he finally heard Amy's voice.

"Amy?" He asked, "I apologise profusely for hurting you. Please can we meet up and talk? I don't care how late it is. I love you and…"

"Sheldon! Thank God, I was about to call you to apologise. I didn't mean to break up with you, I was hurt. Anyway, I need you to stay on the phone; some guy is following me!"

Sheldon sprang up from the bed. "What!?"

"He's getting closer." Amy hissed.

"Where are you? Wherever you are, run! Come to me!" Sheldon instructed, pulling on his windbreaker. "I'll wait up Los Robles for you!"

"Thank you Sheldon…I'm up Eu…" Suddenly, there was a scream, and Sheldon heard a male voice in the background, and Amy begging fearfully.

"Amy? AMY?" He shouted at the phone.

He heard a smash on the other end, and the line went dead.

He stared at the phone in horror.

"What happened?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon was now pulling on his shoes. "I think Amy's been attacked! She was just about to tell me where she was, and then…"

"I heard screaming." Leonard panicked.

"Oh God, what if something awful has happened to her?" Sheldon fretted as he raced through the apartment.

"Whoa, wait. What's going on?" Penny demanded.

"Sheldon called Amy to make up, and it was going well until she got attacked by some guy following her. We're going to find her." Leonard explained.

"Oh my God!" Penny cried, her hand flying up to her mouth. She grabbed her jacket and threw on her shoes. "Let's go!"

..

"So where did she say she was?" Leonard asked as the three friends bailed into his car and drove out of the parking lot.

"Somewhere beginning with U by the sound of it." Sheldon replied, scanning the streets.

"Right." Leonard frowned.

"Why was she walking? Didn't she bring her car? I swear I saw it just now in the parking lot…"

"I don't know. Maybe she went for a walk to clear her thoughts." Sheldon responded.

Leonard turned up Euclid Avenue, and almost immediately, they saw a human shape sprawled on the floor.

"Oh no…" Penny gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

Leonard pulled over immediately, and Sheldon instantly raced out of the car and over to Amy.

"Oh Lord…Amy!? Say something!" He sobbed, kneeling beside her and holding her head and shoulders up.

"Sheldon, I'm so sorry." She slurred.

There was a huge bruise round her eye; her nose was bleeding, swollen and purple-black in colour. She had a fat lip, blood coming from her head and one ear, and her glasses were broken on her face.

Beside her, lay her phone which was smashed beyond repair, with a visible footprint across the screen, and her purse which surprisingly remained untouched. Amy wheezed, trying to keep her eyes open.

Sheldon just shook his head. "No. _I'm _sorry. I want to give you everything Amy Farrah Fowler. Please don't die."

He hadn't realised that Penny had called an ambulance, and was in floods of tears as she tried to explain the situation.

"Five minutes." Penny sobbed, hanging up and kneeling beside Sheldon. "Oh my God, Amy. What did this creep do to you?" She gently took Amy's hand and stroked it.

"I can't…" Amy shook her head.

Leonard was now crouched down with his friends, taking off his jacket to get to the sweater underneath.

He wadded up the sweater and placed it firmly on Amy's head injury, to stop the blood flow.

Sheldon lightly stroked Amy's lip. He bent down to kiss her as gently as he could.

It was then that he noticed blood coming from one corner of her mouth.

He looked up and noticed that her leg was twisted out of shape.

He took a deep breath.

"I feel sick." He got to his feet and moved away, steadying himself on a lamppost.

His head spun as he tried to take in the scene behind him.

Taking deep breaths, Sheldon fought through the nausea until it vanished.

All that remained was the heavy ache in his heart and the spinning in his head.

_Who would do this to my Amy? _He thought. _What could my innocent, loving Amy have possibly done wrong?_

He returned to holding Amy up until the paramedics arrived.

They quickly examined Amy on the floor.

Securing her to a stretcher, and strapping on some padding around her neck and leg, the paramedics placed her in the back of the ambulance.

"We're her very close friends, we'll follow on behind." Leonard said to them.

"I want…Sheldon…Here." Amy stammered.

"Sure, which one is Sheldon?" One of the paramedics asked.

"Me." Sheldon answered for Amy. "I'm her boyfriend…Well; at least I think I am again?"

"You are. If you'll have me back." Amy mumbled.

"Like you even need to ask." Sheldon answered, sitting on the bench, lining one side of the ambulance, and gripping Amy's hand.

"I'm sorry for breaking up with you. It was out of anger. I didn't mean it…" Amy mumbled again.

"I know." Sheldon answered. "We can talk about that later. What happened to you?"

Amy blinked and a tear rolled down her face. "I don't know." She confessed. "I honestly don't know."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I have to say I am freaking out about tonight's episode! I can't wait! Just thought I'd throw that out there…**

**..**

The paramedics had radioed through to the police department about Amy's incident, and were told that a unit would be waiting at the hospital for them.

Upon arriving at the hospital, as the medics wheeled Amy through on the trolley, they spotted the policemen.

"Officers! This is the victim."

The two officers immediately followed them through the double doors.

Sheldon didn't even think to freak out about the germs surrounding this building.

His mind was elsewhere.

_What happened to Amy? More importantly, who did it?_

As Amy was wheeled into a room, the examination began, whilst Amy tried her best to explain to the officers what had happened.

"I remember he wasn't very tall; perhaps a little taller than me, so my guess is five foot seven-ish. Dark, messy hair, he had this horrible little dark beard, kind of broken-looking nose and was wearing a green jacket. That's all I remember." Amy said, her lip hurting with every word.

At that moment, Leonard and Penny burst in, apologising for their intrusion and explaining who they were.

"So you don't remember what he did to you?" one of the police officers prompted, gently, turning back to Amy.

Amy shook her head. "He pulled me round to face him, hit me and the next thing I know is I'm waking up to Sheldon, Penny and Leonard. But they had nothing to do with it! Sheldon and I had a fight…Verbally. Well, I did all the shouting." Amy hung her head. "I stormed out, upset. But then he called me a little later while I was out walking to clear my head, and we patched things up. I told him the guy was following me, so he told me to run and meet him at Los Robles Avenue. But I never made it…He and the others came looking for me."

"Thank you Miss Fowler, we…"

"It's Doctor Fowler, officer."

"My apologies; _Doctor _Fowler. Thank you, I think we have enough to go on. Do you mind if we interview your boyfriend and friends?"

Amy shook her head.

"Also…"The officer bent down a little, "I don't want to alarm you, but given that this attack has impaired your memory, could we ask that you take a rape test kit? Just to be safe?"

Sheldon made a funny noise, and pressed a fist to his mouth.

Penny put a comforting arm around her friend and rubbed his back, as Leonard put his hand on Sheldon's arm to hold him up.

As the officers finished their questioning, they led Sheldon, Penny and Leonard outside and into a side room to interview them.

Sheldon was distraught, his head was spinning again.

He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands.

"Dr Sheldon Cooper is Amy's boyfriend." Leonard explained, "I'm his roommate Leonard, and this is my girlfriend Penny, who is also Amy's best friend."

"Okay, thank you. Could you explain to me what happened tonight?" The officer asked, as his colleague sat with a notebook, ready to write.

Sheldon looked up, his face pale and eyes red and shining with tears. He took a breath.

"Yes; Amy and I had confessed our love to each other in front of our friends. The subject then changed to marriage, which scared me because my father used to be abusive to my mother and their marriage wasn't exactly great. I got scared and told Amy I wasn't sure if marriage was on the cards because I didn't want to end up like my Dad." Sheldon paused to take a breath. "Amy got upset, and ran out of the building, telling me it was over. I should have run after her, but I felt like lead and couldn't move. I went back to my apartment and broke down in tears. Leonard came to comfort me a short while later, perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes later, and urged me to call Amy to talk. I did, and it was going well until she told me that someone was following her. I told her to run and meet me at Los Robles. She then said she was somewhere beginning with U, then she got attacked, and I heard a smash and the line went dead, so Leonard and Penny took me to look for Amy. We found her up Euclid Avenue, battered and bleeding, her phone was smashed, and…"

Sheldon couldn't finish. He started to hyperventilate, so one of the officers handed him a brown paper bag to breathe into, as Penny rubbed his back.

"Everything he's saying is true, officer. Both Penny and I were there. We never saw the attack, just the aftermath. We found Amy lying on the concrete and pulled over to help her." Leonard clarified.

"Thank you." The officer said. "I think we have enough information until the rape kit comes back. Would you like to go and see Amy again?" He looked at Sheldon.

Sheldon nodded and got to his feet, making for the door.

He paused. "You will catch them, won't you?"

The two policemen looked at each other. "We have a pretty good idea who it is, but I can't make any promises. We will try our best; get all the team involved until we do!"

"Thank you." Sheldon replied, hurrying out of the door and back into Amy's room.

The female doctor was just putting the swabs back in their bag to send off to the lab.

"Oh, excuse me!" Amy piped up, "I recently lost my virginity to Sheldon, so if you do find any DNA that traces back to him, he is not the culprit of this attack."

"Thank you for telling us; could we possibly take a swab from you, Sheldon?" the doctor asked.

"Certainly…You mean from my…?"

"A cheek swab will be fine, Dr Cooper."

"Of course." Sheldon nodded.

The doctor went away for a few moments, and returned with a cheek swab kit. She used the cotton bud to collect the DNA from the inside of Sheldon's cheek, then placed the cap over it, and slipping it in the same bag, with a note attached to explain what Sheldon had told her.

"Amy's wounds have been cleaned up and are being held together with sutures. The good news is, her neck is not broken, although her leg has a suspected break. We are waiting for the x-ray room to be vacant before we can use it, so you may not have long." The doctor explained gently, leaving Sheldon and Amy to talk alone.

There was a moment's silence.

"Would you like to sit down?" Amy gestured to a vacant spot on her bed.

Sheldon timidly took a seat and licked his lips, turning to her.

"Do you really want to break up with me?" He asked sadly.

"Never. I was stupid to even say that; I'm so sorry." Amy replied tearfully, taking Sheldon's hand.

"That's good…Because, to be honest, I can't live without you. I thought I was going to lose you tonight, and the thought terrified me." Sheldon confessed.

"Me too. Look, if you don't want to get married, that's fine. I won't make you. Being with you is enough." Amy said, smiling as much as she could with the swollen lip.

Sheldon smiled back, and the two of them looked at each other for a few moments.

Clearing his throat, Sheldon finally moved, breaking eye contact.

"Let me fluff those pillows for you." He murmured. "Would you like me to get you a drink from the vending machine in the waiting room?"

"I don't know if I'm allowed, but water can't hurt. Thank you."

Sheldon nodded and hurried out of the room to get Amy, himself and Leonard and Penny a bottle of water each.

He passed Leonard and Penny on the seats in the hallway, and gave them their drinks.

"Thank you Sheldon, that was thoughtful." Leonard smiled.

"It's nothing." Sheldon shrugged, letting himself back into Amy's room.

Handing her the bottle of water, he sat on the edge of the bed again. "So…You really have no recollection of the events of the attack?"

Amy shook her head. "No. I wish I did, but then part of me is glad I don't remember because I wouldn't want to keep re-living the memories."

Sheldon nodded. "Yes…Memories are painful. It's even worse when you have an eidetic memory. The pain never goes. All you can do is keep busy to block them out."

Amy looked at him. "Is that what you do?"

Taking a sip of water, Sheldon nodded. "When you grow up in a household like the one I grew up in, and spent your entire childhood – and adult life, come to that – being bullied relentlessly, the memories never fade, even for a normal person. You have to block them out, and keeping busy all the time is the best way to do so."

Amy looked at him sadly, her eyes as wide as she could get them. "I…I had no idea. I just thought that you were being difficult sometimes." Amy chuckled.

"Hmm. I suppose it may come across that way." Sheldon replied, bowing his head.

Amy looked at him tenderly. "That's why you practise Kohlinar, isn't it?" She asked, softly.

Sheldon pursed his lips and nodded. "Exactly. It's also the reason I don't like germs and human contact; I won't go into detail, but Dad's little 'bit on the side' was a disgusting woman…"

"I had no idea…" Amy shook her head. "If I'd have known, I'd never have pushed you into marriage. We'd never have argued, and this would never have happened. This is all my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous! If anyone is at fault it's me for not explaining sooner. I don't like talking about my feelings, so please don't tell anyone." Sheldon pleaded.

"Of course not. And Sheldon…It's not your fault either. It's that monster's fault for…Well, whatever he did."

Sheldon smiled weakly, then took a breath.

"Amy, I have been reconsidering, and I think I'd like to…"

"Right, Dr Fowler! The x-ray room is free now, so let's wheel you down there. Would you like your boyfriend with you?" The woman doctor burst into the room again, interrupting the conversation, and took hold of one side of the trolley, whilst her colleague took the other.

"Uh…Yes please." Amy nodded.

Sheldon took her hand and walked briskly alongside the trolley, past Leonard and Penny.

"We're going to the Radiology department to x-ray Amy's leg; would you two like to come with us and wait outside? We shouldn't be too long." The doctor called to them.

"Sure." Penny nodded, gathering her purse and jacket, following on behind, holding Leonard's hand.

Amy looked up at Sheldon.

_What was he about to tell me?_


	12. Chapter 12

It didn't take much more than 48 hours for the test kit results to come back.

Sheldon had barely moved from Amy's side unless it was to shower and change or sleep.

He ate his meals in the hospital cafeteria and used the facilities there.

Also, the suspected break in Amy's leg was indeed a break, and they had to operate.

Now, her leg was in a cast.

Amy's assigned doctor came in to tell her and Sheldon the results from the rape test.

"I have the results from the rape test kit…" She began.

Amy gulped, and closed her eyes.

Sheldon leaned forward and took Amy's hand, his eyes wide.

"I'm pleased to tell you that the only DNA we found besides Amy's, was yours, Sheldon. And given Amy's note about recently sleeping with you, we can clarify that you won't be classed as a suspect. It wasn't rape, basically."

Amy and Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God." Amy exhaled.

"Thank you Doctor." Sheldon said.

"I'll leave you alone for a few minutes." The doctor smiled, exiting the room again.

"Thank God." Amy repeated. "But of course, the question remains: what did he actually do to me?"

"Maybe he thought you were someone else?" Sheldon offered. "Maybe he was after an ex-girlfriend or ex-wife and got the wrong person?"

"Oh come on Sheldon; we live in California. No other girls are as ugly as me…Especially not anymore." Amy burst into tears.

Sheldon looked mildly horrified, not quite sure how to deal with the situation.

He tried his best, and snaked an arm around Amy's shoulders, stroking her arm.

"Remember what I told you on your birthday?" Sheldon spoke, "You are beautiful. You know I believe that."

"Not with these scars and bruises! I must have looked a mess when you saw me on the floor. All blood and smashed glasses. These fricking contacts are irritating." Amy wept.

"Amy, these scars mean you're a survivor." Sheldon breathed, "That's how I see them, that's how our friends see them."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sheldon kissed her gently, trying not to hurt her swollen lip.

As they broke apart, he looked at the contact lens solution on Amy's bedside cabinet.

"What prescription are you?" He asked.

"Minus five; I'm short sighted." Amy said.

"I see…And you have no replacement glasses?"

"No."

"Alright…" Sheldon put the solution down again and frowned thoughtfully.

"So, since we finally have some time to ourselves, what were you going to say to me the other day?" Amy asked.

Sheldon snapped back to his senses. "Sorry, what?"

"The other day before I got taken down to Radiology, you were going to say something…You said you have reconsidered something. We never got a chance to resume the conversation…" Amy replied.

"Sorry, I forget. Listen, I'll be back in about an hour to two hours, depending on how the buses are running. Love you." Sheldon swooped down to kiss Amy and threw on his jacket, taking his messenger bag with him as he hurried out of the door.

"Like hell, Dr Cooper." Amy muttered to herself, "How can someone with an eidetic memory forget?"

..

"So what exactly did he say, Amy?" Penny asked.

It was an hour later, and Penny had called Amy's new cell phone that her mother had bought her, to see how her best friend was doing.

Amy had told Penny about Sheldon's odd behaviour.

"He said 'I forget.' And then he left! He's obviously trying to avoid the question now." Amy was exasperated.

"Hmm…Really? Sheldon, forgetting? No way." Penny said, voicing Amy's exact thoughts. "He had an eidetic memory, how could he forget?"

"See?"

"Yeah…That is weird. Have you tried calling him?" Penny asked.

"No, what if he hangs up on me? Oh my God…Penny is he reconsidering the break up?" Amy gasped.

"Uh…I don't think so." Penny replied, but Amy detected a hint of doubt.

"Oh God, I be he is!" Amy cried. "All this hospital business is too much for him. He's probably just acting all nice and sweet until I get out!"

At that moment, the door handle was pulled down, and Sheldon entered the room with some bags.

"I have to go. He's here, I'll text you." Amy ended the call and looked at Sheldon suspiciously.

"You're back then." She said.

Sheldon blinked. "I said I would be…Is something wrong?"

Amy just stared at him, not knowing how to answer.

"Are you reconsidering breaking up with me?" She asked sadly.

"No! Why would you think that?" Sheldon looked genuinely shocked, "I went out to get you these…" He pulled a purple glasses case out of one of the bags and handed it to Amy.

"Dolce and Gabbana glasses!?" She gasped, opening the case to reveal a pair of rimless, stylish glasses with black and gold earpieces emblazoned with the D&G logo. She put them on to try them out. "They're perfect! Oh my God, thank you Sheldon!" She pulled him down into a hug.

"What else did you get? More gadgets for you to play with?" She nodded at the other bag, which was just plain white.

"Oh, uh…No. This is…Just a movie."

"Oh, well I have a portable DVD player in here that my mother brought, remember? Put it on and we can watch it if you like!" Amy smiled.

"No!" Sheldon answered, abruptly. "Uh…No it's um…For Raj. He asked me to pick it up for him. It's a…Dirty movie."

Amy frowned slightly.

"You know, because he's single…" Sheldon trailed off, looking elsewhere.

"Okay." Amy shrugged. "Why couldn't he get it himself?"

"He's ashamed."

"Yes, but aren't you more against stuff like that?"

"I am, but he bribed me with…Um…Greek food if I didn't do it. So, you know, naturally, I had no choice. Let's change the subject…DOLPHINS! Are they really as smart as humans?"

Amy frowned again. "You're hiding something. What have you done?"

"Nothing."

"Sheldon…"

"I promise you, it's just a movie for Raj. Putting it away now, see?" Sheldon unzipped his bag and stuffed the shopping bag in a compartment hastily, before zipping it up again.

Amy sighed. "Fine."

"So…You like the glasses?" Sheldon asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Amy.

"I love them; they're amazing! But they must have been so expensive, let me pay you back." Amy reached over to grab her purse, but Sheldon took her waist and pulled her towards him, kissing her.

"My treat." He said, breaking away.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sheldon Cooper?" Amy joked. "You are really full of surprises for me lately." She hugged him tightly.

"Yes, well…" Sheldon looked at the messenger bag, "You could say that."


	13. Chapter 13

No more was said about the contents of the bag for the rest of Amy's stay in hospital.

She had stayed for the rest of the week before being discharged.

Now it was the morning of her discharge day, and Sheldon was helping her to pack up her things.

"I wish I was staying longer." Amy sighed.

"Why?" Sheldon frowned. "Why on earth would you want to stay any longer in the disease-ridden hell that is a hospital?"

"Because I live alone and can't do much with a broken leg."

"Oh," Sheldon replied, "I can see how that would be a problem."

"I mean I have my physiotherapist visit twice a week…"

"Why don't you stay with Leonard and me?" Sheldon suggested.

Amy stared at him. "Uh…I don't know. I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no imposition; you're my girlfriend and I have to take care of you when you are unable to do so yourself." Sheldon replied.

"But where would I sleep?"

Sheldon paused for a moment. "You could always sleep with me…"

Amy blinked at him.

"I mean…You could share my bed." He said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked.

"Yes. I'll inform Leonard that you will be staying with us. Also, you may want to inform your physiotherapist."

"Thank you Sheldon." Amy smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

..

As Leonard came to pick up Sheldon and Amy from the hospital that afternoon, he turned to smile at Amy.

"We're happy to have you staying with us Amy, so we can keep you safe. I'm glad you and Sheldon patched things up too."

"Thank you Leonard, you're a good friend." Amy returned his smile.

As they pulled into the parking lot outside the apartment and helped Amy up the stairs, it suddenly occurred to her that Sheldon still hadn't told her the contents of his bag, or continued what he had been saying days earlier.

When Amy questioned him about it, he stuttered a little.

"Uh…I forget. Sorry."

"Bullshit." Amy muttered.

Sheldon stared at her. "That's some pretty salty language Amy!"

"Sheldon Cooper, you have an eidetic memory. Since when do you ever 'forget'?" Amy air quoted as Leonard unlocked the door.

"Yeah Sheldon; when?" He pressed, dryly.

Sheldon's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, as he tried to find the words to say.

"I will get to the bottom of this, Sheldon Lee Cooper!" Amy looked at him seriously, as Leonard helped her through the door on her crutches. "I'll find out why you're acting so strange!"

..

After dinner, Amy had fallen asleep pretty early.

Sheldon seized this opportunity to slip out of the apartment and across the hall to Penny's.

He did his usual three knocks on the door and waited.

"Sheldon! Is everything okay? Is Amy okay?" Penny blurted.

"Well…As okay as she can be, yes. I need to ask your advice again." Sheldon said.

"Oh, alright…What's wrong?"

"I need you to help me with regarding matter of romantic gestures again."

"Okay…"

Sheldon looked around worriedly, in case Amy woke up and ventured into the hall.

"Would you like to come in and talk?" Penny invited.

"Yes, that would be better." Sheldon nodded, following Penny into her tiny apartment.

"So when you say 'romantic gestures', what do you mean this time…?" She asked.

"I'd like to take Amy on a date...But I need somewhere special." Sheldon explained.

"Why? Hasn't it just been her birthday?"

"Yes…It's because she's been through a horrible event and because I am her boyfriend, I'd like to cheer her up."

"Oh Sheldon, that's so sweet!" Penny smiled, "Look who's becoming a big boy!"

"Penny, please don't patronize me."

"Sorry. Well…You could take her to a fancy restaurant…" Penny suggested.

"We go to restaurants on regular date nights; this is a special date night." Sheldon replied, "I want it to be different."

Penny frowned. "Okay…Well hey, how about that Natural History Museum?"

"It's not open at night…I could take her on a train!"

"No, okay? No trains…" Penny objected.

"Well why not?" Sheldon was taken aback.

"Amy's not a big train fan."

"Hmm…" Sheldon pondered.

Suddenly, an idea dawned on Penny. "Wait! What if you take her to the planetarium at the university? I'm sure Raj wouldn't mind setting it up for you! And if you need any extra help with anything, I'll help you, and I'm sure we can rope the others in, too!"

"We don't have a planetarium; we have an auditorium with black walls and ceiling, and a projector!" Sheldon replied. "But yes, Raj uses that occasionally…I could ask him. Thank you Penny! I'll talk to you tomorrow to sort it all out." Sheldon went to hug her, but then thought better of it and fist-pounded her shoulder. "Yeah, thanks buddy."

Penny laughed to herself as Sheldon let himself out of the apartment.

..

"Sheldon, where are you taking me?" Amy asked, as the couple walked and hobbled through the halls of the empty university that Friday night.

"You'll see." Sheldon smiled back, opening the auditorium door for her.

They were greeted by Penny and Bernadette the other side. "Surprise!" Bernadette called. "I'm Bernadette and I'll be your Drinks Waitress."

"I'm Penny and I'll be your actual Waitress." Penny grinned.

Howard and Raj were fiddling with the projector at the back of the room, and waved.

Leonard took Amy and Sheldon's jackets and showed them to their seats.

"Wow! What is all this?" Amy asked.

"Again, you'll see." Sheldon winked.

Leonard moved towards the sound system, switching it on, just as Raj turned on the projector and millions of stars, planets, moons and galaxies floated around the black walls and ceiling, as the sound system narrated.

Amy gasped.

"Oh my God! This is amazing!"

"Wine?" Bernadette came over with an ice bucket containing red fruity wine, and two glasses.

"Please." Sheldon nodded.

"You're actually drinking wine?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"This is your night Amy." Was all Sheldon said.

"Thank you." Amy said as Bernadette filled her glass.

Penny wandered over and handed the couple their chicken dinner, which had just been cooked fresh in the cafeteria. "Enjoy!" Penny grinned, as she led Bernadette away.

They both ran out of the doors, and Raj, Howard and Leonard followed them. "See you later buddy!" They waved.

"Where are they going?" Amy frowned, biting into the boiling hot, white chicken.

"Oh, they weren't going to stay." Sheldon shrugged, watching the stars and planets flit around the room.

"You see that constellation?" He pointed upwards. "That's the Big Dipper."

Amy just nodded, snuggling up against Sheldon.

"So…Are you going to tell me why you've been acting weird for the last couple of weeks?" She asked, chewing her food.

Sheldon looked at her, and finished his mouthful. He took a breath.

"I was acting weird?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "You know very well you have; all this suspicious, sneaky behaviour…"

"I've been planning this." Sheldon said, simply.

"Y-You have?" Amy stared at him intently.

"Yes. I realise I upset you when I dismissed the whole marriage thing. I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry. I've been trying to make it up to you."

"I should be the one making it up to you for breaking up with you." Amy shook her head, "you know I can't be without you, Sheldon. I accept you completely…And, well I love you."

"I love you too." Sheldon replied, taking her hand.

They continued to look lovingly at each other, which then turned into what could only be described as eye-coitus.

At the same time, they both jumped up and locked themselves into a passionate kiss, Amy leaning on Sheldon for balance. He laid them both down on the carpeted floor, and continued to kiss her, his tongue requesting access for the first time ever.

Amy accepted, and ran her hands up and down his arms and back.

Sheldon began to unbutton Amy's shirt and kissed down her neck, onto the top of her chest, before returning to her lips again.

Amy pulled her boyfriend's shirt open and began to softly caress his chest.

Mid-kiss, Sheldon came up for a breath and rested his forehead against Amy's.

"Marry me, Amy." He blurted.

..

Amy stopped, and looked at Sheldon with shock.

"What did you say?"

Realising what he had just blurted out, Sheldon gulped and got to his feet.

He started rummaging through his messenger bag.

"Sheldon…Repeat what you just said…" Amy breathed.

Sheldon wordlessly took the white plastic bag out of his satchel and took a deep breath.

"Why did you bring Raj's movie?! I don't want to watch pornography, thank you!" Amy frowned.

Sheldon took another breath. "It's not a movie…I lied."

He took a small box out of the bag and opened it to reveal a stunning white-gold ring dotted with sapphires and rubies.

"And…I believe I meant to say…Amy Farrah Fowler, will you be my wife?"

..

**A/N: If this is what you thought it was…Congrats! :D Ten points for you! You go Glen Coco! And yes, another dreaded cliffhanger ;) Sorry, that's just me muahaha! Thank you for reading and reviewing…Shall update shortly!**


	14. Chapter 14

Amy stared at her boyfriend in shock.

A few moments passed, and Sheldon shifted uncomfortably, lowering his hand a little, his expression now worried.

"W…What did you say?" Amy whispered.

"This is the third time I've asked now, is your hearing impaired?" Sheldon asked.

"No, I just can't believe you'd ask me…You made your views clear to me the other week."

"I had time to think and reconsider. I'm not my father, and I have no intention of ever hurting you or being unfaithful. I had a brief experience of heartbreak and wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially you."

"I broke your heart?" Amy asked sadly. "Oh God, I'm sorry Sheldon…I don't deserve you. You've done nothing but try so hard for me lately, and I was so selfish."

"That was momentary, and it is in the past. We worked past it…And I have been selfish with you in the past. This could be a fresh start for us and our new relationship paradigm…The truth is, you're the only person I have had no trouble making space for in my life; you just fit with me nicely like we're two protons in a Helium atom."

Amy grinned at him.

"So…I ask for the third time…Will you marry me?" Sheldon asked, now getting down on his knee.

"Yes!" Amy squealed, ecstatically, practically jumping on Sheldon and kissing him, hurting her bad leg in the process.

Sheldon lifted her up off the floor and sat on one of the cushioned auditorium seats, placing his now-fiancée on his lap, slipping the ring on her finger.

"It fits perfectly! How did you know my size?" Amy questioned. "Let me guess…Science?"

"Nope, just a lucky guess." Sheldon confessed, kissing her.

"You know, we could celebrate…" Amy grinned devilishly.

Frowning, Sheldon looked at the table of half-eaten food. "This is the celebration!"

"No…I mean sexually."

"Oh! You want to leave?"

"Who said anything about leaving? Not when we have an empty auditorium filled with fake stars." Amy looked at Sheldon with a glint in her eye.

"You are a very dirty vixen, Amy Farrah Fowler!" Sheldon returned his fiancée's impish grin, and locked lips with Amy again in a passionate embrace. He took off her already unbuttoned shirt, and she removed his under-shirt, grabbing his belt next.

"By the way…This was a very naughty idea of yours and you must be punished." He finished, his mock-serious expression being betrayed by the hint of a smile.

He moved his hands lover down her back and smacked her butt.

"Oh my God!" Amy breathed. She lunged at her fiancé and grabbed his face in her hands, kissing him deeply.

They both rolled off the seat and onto the red carpet floor, with Amy straddling him, forgetting all about the stars above them, their moans of pleasure almost drowning out the commentary.

Simultaneously, they practically tore off each other's clothes and underwear.

"Wait! Do you have anything?" Amy asked.

"Um…No…" Sheldon replied, guiltily.

"Good thing I do then." Amy reached up to her purse and rummaged in the front pocket, bringing out an extra-large condom. "Is this the right size?"

"Yes," Sheldon nodded, slightly embarrassed. "How did you know?"

"A girl can tell." Amy replied, ripping off the corner of the packaging and handing it to Sheldon.

Once he was prepared, they returned to business.

Gently pulling Amy's hips closer to him, Sheldon let her stay on top and eased himself in.

As they moved together rhythmically, Sheldon caressed Amy's back and neck, moving slowly up to her hair.

Amy leaned down to kiss him passionately, rocking back and forth.

Minutes later, it was all over.

Sheldon pulled Amy down into a warm embrace, and they both felt like they had melted into one.

That was until they heard the doors open, and a voice;

"Oh my God! What the hell is going on here?!"

The two lovers immediately covered themselves with their clothing and Sheldon turned to look at the door, turning pale as he realised who it was.

"Uh…Good evening, President Siebert."

..

"Siebert caught you and Amy having sex!?" Leonard burst out laughing the next day at lunchtime.

"No, he caught us just _after _we had sex." Sheldon corrected.

"I'm sorry, but that's funny." Leonard chuckled. "Was he mad?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "Well…He was at first. Then when he saw it was me, his exact words were: 'Good going Cooper, welcome to being a man!' And patted me on the back, which of course I didn't enjoy one little bit…And then he left."

"So you still have a job, right?"

"Yes."

"You do realise that when we go back in on Monday, everyone will have heard about this?" Leonard pointed out.

Sheldon sighed. "I thought as much."

"What's going on?" Amy asked, appearing in the room on her crutches.

Sheldon leapt to his feet to assist her. "Oh, nothing…Leonard was just telling me that our dalliance in the auditorium under the fake stars will be the new 'hot gossip' at work on Monday."

Amy stifled a laugh. "I bet that'll be fun for you."

"It's not the first time," Sheldon sighed again, "Remember when Kripke told everyone about our crazy sex life, before we had even _had _sex?"

"Oh yeah," Amy laughed, "That rocket thing was kinda hot."

Sheldon frowned at her. "I still don't understand what he meant by that."

Amy just stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

Sheldon shook his head with a blank expression.

"He thought you used the rocket to um…You know…Play with me." Amy explained, and when Sheldon's response was just a slight frown, she added "Sexually."

"Oh!" Sheldon was hit with the realisation. "_That's _what he meant! Wow…I was a total animal!"

"You didn't actually do it…"

"No, but the rumour states I did, so that's what people think. I wondered why some of the women at work were suddenly showing interest."

Amy looked at Sheldon in alarm.

"Don't worry; you're the only woman for me." Sheldon smiled, kissing his fiancee softly. "Which reminds me…Leonard, Amy and I are engaged."

Leonard, who was drinking coffee, spat his mouthful out in shock. "What?!"

"Amy and I are engaged to be married."

"Are you serious? I thought you hated the thought of it."

"I took some time to reconsider, and realised that maybe I hadn't given it a fair shake. I love Amy, Amy loves me. We can't live without each other, we fit perfectly, and I want to spend my life with her." Sheldon explained.

"Wow…Well in that case, congratulations! I'm happy for the both of you!" Leonard grinned, getting up to give Sheldon a man-hug.

"Oh you wanna do this?...Alright." Sheldon uncomfortably accepted Leonard's forwardness, and awkwardly patted him on the back.

Leonard moved on to hug Amy, who was much more accepting of being hugged.

"Congratulations you two."

"Thank you." Sheldon and Amy replied in unison.

"We ought to celebrate with the gang! Let's call them over." Leonard suggested.

"Leonard, you know how I feel about parties." Sheldon responded.

"Well, it doesn't have to be a party; just our usual group of friends over for a takeout and some drinks."

"I don't drink."

"You drank last night." Amy pointed out.

"Nevertheless I don't drink; that was a one-off for Amy."

"Okay fine, let's just hang out as usual, but this time there will be yours and Amy's good news, and people reacting excitedly." Leonard said.

"Alright." Sheldon finally agreed, "Let's call them. Oh! We could celebrate and have Chinese food and some drinks!"

Leonard opened his mouth to argue that that was what he had just suggested, but instead closed his mouth and shook his head.

Sheldon snaked an arm around Amy and pulled her closer, and they both exchanged a smile.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: LOL thank you for the reviews XD…So anyway, here's a Sheldon fury/rage warning for this chapter…**

**..**

The engagement celebration turned out to be what Sheldon liked to call: A night of alcohol-induced frivolity, resulting in the rest of the gang tricking Sheldon into getting drunk by lying about the contents of his glass each time they gave him a drink.

Sheldon was a giggly, bad-joke-telling drunk, and to everyone's amusement, he even started to play the Star Trek Next Generation theme on Leonard's cello (very badly,) and getting everyone else to join in by humming.

Eventually he had passed out, after Amy had dragged him to bed so he could sleep it off, sleeping in only his underpants, with a bucket next to the bed just in case.

Amy refused to sleep next to him in this state, so Penny stayed with Leonard in his room, and allowed Amy to have her apartment for the night, telling her to feel free to use anything she needed.

Sunday had been hilarious when Amy finally ventured back into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, to find her fiancé trying to sneak into the kitchen in just his underpants, demanding to know what had happened last night.

Now, it was Monday morning, and Sheldon thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't got sick over the weekend so he could go to work.

Of course, after Siebert catching him making love to Amy in the auditorium on Friday, Sheldon was keeping a low profile…Or at least, his own version of it;

Wolowitz had reluctantly loaned Sheldon his Iron Man helmet, and Sheldon was wearing it on his head as he scuttled through the university.

"If I can't see them, they can't see me!" He chanted under his breath, unlocking his office door.

Closing it behind him, he sat at his desk and breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Kripke threw open the door. "Mowning, Coopew!"

"Kripke!" Sheldon replied.

"So, Seibewt tewws me he caught you and youw wady getting busy on Fwiday!"

Sheldon covered his face with his hands. "What do you want, Barry?" He asked, his voice slightly muffled through his fingers.

"What was that Coopew? Youw voice sounds funny."

Sheldon just looked at Kripke, trying to decide whether or not he should point out the hypocrisy.

He decided against it.

"What do you want?" Sheldon repeated.

"I just came to ask you how it was." Kripke grinned, sitting on the edge of Alex's vacant desk.

Sheldon stared at his colleague again.

"Evewyone in the entiwe univewsity thinks you'we a Sex God, Coopew! Spill!"

Sheldon couldn't help but pull a smug little smile. "Well…"

"Oh go on! Mowe wocket stuff wight? Did you bwing it with you?"

"No…But we were completely naked…"

"Oh my God!" Kripke grinned, clapping his hands together.

At that moment, the door opened and Alex walked in.

"Get out!" Kripke and Sheldon cried in unison.

Alex looked shocked, and frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"I mean…I'm giving you the day off, Miss Jensen. You've worked so hard lately that you deserve a break. Don't worry, I'm still paying you." Sheldon said hurriedly, getting to his feet.

Alex smiled. "Really!? Thank you Dr Cooper; I'll see you tomorrow." She hurried away again before her boss could change his mind.

Sheldon closed the door.

"Smooth Coopew! You'we a smooth opewator, no wondew you have so much luck in the sack!...And the auditowium, appawently! So tell me, what did you do to hew?" Kripke asked.

"Uh…Well, we were kissing, and then…"

"With tongues?"

Sheldon frowned at Kripke. "Yes. Anyway…We were kissing, then I asked her to marry me. She accepted, we kissed some more and one thing led to another, and well…We ended up having coitus and Siebert caught us just as we finished."

"Wucky you! Weast you got to finish! Evewyone thinks you'we the man, Coopew!"

"They do?"

"Yeah! Anyway I gotta wun, but I will tawk to you waiter!" Kripke walked out of Sheldon's office and closed the door.

Sheldon blinked. "Oh great, now I'm gonna be a chick magnet." He grumbled.

..

At lunchtime, Sheldon snuck into the cafeteria, again wearing Howard's Iron Man helmet.

Leonard immediately spotted him and inched closer. "Sheldon, what are you doing?"

"Hiding."

"In the middle of a busy cafeteria in an Iron Man helmet? Great cover!" Leonard said sarcastically.

"If I can't see them, they can't see me." Sheldon said.

"Everyone knows it's you. Will you please take off that stupid helmet?"

"Fine." Sheldon huffed, removing the helmet.

"Hey Cooper! How was your cosmic porn show?" One man called out, and the rest of the cafeteria burst out laughing.

Sheldon turned bright pink and looked down.

"Hey, weave the guy awone!" Kripke's voice cut through the air. "I got youw back, buddy."

"Kripke…Why are you being nice to me?"

"It pains me to say this, but…You'we not as bad as I thought, Coopew." Kripke joined Sheldon and Leonard at a table. "I think you'we a total wegend."

"Thank you Kripke." Sheldon nodded.

All through lunch, people kept making inappropriate comments to Sheldon and laughing and pointing.

Leonard and Kripke kept telling them to back off, and told Sheldon to ignore them.

"So much for them thinking I'm 'the man!'" Sheldon muttered.

His eidetic memory was torturing him again, replaying childhood memories and teenage memories when Sheldon used to be bullied and taunted in school.

He felt like he was there again.

His chest started heaving up and down as his breathing quickened.

Sheldon closed his eyes, and tried to use Kohlinar to block out the noise.

He felt something swirling within him. It felt like anger…Pure rage.

"Hey Dr Cooper, you gonna wife that hoe or what?" Someone called out.

That did it.

Sheldon threw back his chair, and saw nothing but a red mist in his line of vision.

His thoughts were purely 'fight, fight, fight'.

He flew for the man who had spoken and grabbed him, lifting him in the air and the entire cafeteria fell silent.

"Hey look man, I was only kidding." The guy who Sheldon had hold of spoke up.

"You be quiet!" Sheldon hissed. "The rest of you…Yes, I have a sexual relationship. Problem? Do I bother any of you with stupid questions every time you come into work after a night filled with sexual activity? No! Some things are meant to be kept private. Siebert caught us, yes, but that was an accident! Friday night was meant to be a special night for Amy and me. I had my friends help me to make it romantic for her…And yes, John, I _am _'going to wife her.' I proposed to her that night!" Sheldon dropped John on the floor and glared at everyone. "If anyone says one more word, I swear to God I will hurt you!" With that, he stormed out of the cafeteria, with Leonard and Kripke following behind.

"Cooper! What was all that commotion in the cafeteria?" Siebert rounded the corner to face Sheldon.

"Wouldn't you like to know, you big gossip?" Sheldon raged, "You told everyone about Amy and me! Now they are relentlessly torturing me. It reminds me of when I was back in college and in school…All the other kids would…They…They were ruthless!" Sheldon pushed past.

"Dr Cooper, I'm sorry, I had no idea they would react like this!" President Siebert called after him.

Sheldon ignored him and burst into his office, throwing all his belongings into his satchel.

"Sheldon, come on, calm down." Leonard soothed.

Sheldon shook him off.

"Coopew, Hofstadtew is wight, cawm down. Just take five and we will kick hose woser's asses, wight, Hofstadter?" Kripke looked to Leonard.

"Uh…Y-yeah, sure we will." Leonard nodded, uncertainly.

"Forget it." Sheldon finished putting his stuff into his bag, and scribbled a note for Alex the next morning. He turned to his friends. "I quit."

..

Leonard and Kripke tried to chase Sheldon as he sprinted through the halls, trying to escape before he caused any damage to anything or anyone.

He had to get out.

"Sheldon, you can't quit, this is your dream job!" Leonard called.

Sheldon ignored him.

He pushed open the double doors and sprinted over to his and Howard's shared parking spot and leaned against the Squirrel Tree.

As he panted hard and tried to ignore the burning in his lungs, Sheldon's eyes filled with tears as he began to slowly calm down.

"What have I done?" He breathed, sinking to the floor, "I am just like my dad!"


	16. Chapter 16

That afternoon, Amy's physiotherapist was just leaving Sheldon and Leonard's apartment.

Amy had had her physiotherapy in Sheldon's room, because the exercises she was currently doing needed a comfortable space, so Sheldon had insisted.

Amy and her physiotherapist, Jen, were just emerging from the hallway.

"Thank you for coming," Amy smiled, following on behind with her crutches to see Jen out.

"No problem. See you Thursday!" Jen grinned, then she did a double-take on the couch, and Amy followed her gaze.

Sheldon was laying face-down on the couch with an Afghan over his head, and he was silently sobbing.

Jen gave a worried stare.

"Uh…So anyway, thanks again." Amy repeated.

Jen gave a tentative smile, before descending the stairs, and Amy closed the door, turning to Sheldon.

She hobbled over and sat down on a free spot of couch, near his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I got ridiculed at work." Sheldon sobbed.

Amy placed her hand on Sheldon's shoulder and gave it a gentle rub.

"I'm sorry Sheldon."

"It's not your fault. It's that gossipy man-bitch President Siebert. The whole university knows."

"I had a feeling this would happen." Amy sighed. "But it doesn't matter, Sheldon. They'll get over it soon."

"You don't understand," Sheldon sniffed, propping himself up and facing her. "They spent the entire lunch hour mocking me. Leonard and Kripke defended me, but that wasn't enough. I felt like I was in High School and college again, and the kids were relentlessly bullying me, and for the first time ever I lashed out."

Amy's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean 'lashed out'?"

"I picked up one of them who insulted you, said my piece which put everyone in their place, and dropped him on the floor. Then, I gathered my things and left the university, and now I am going to write my resignation." Sheldon said. "And if no other university in California will employ me as a Theoretical Physicist, I guess I could always find work in experimental physics or…even worse; engineering!" At that, he burst into tears again.

Amy put her arms around her fiancé and put her head on his shoulder, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"That won't happen; you're far too brilliant for that. Look, don't give up your job, Sheldon. Just take a couple days off to relax and get over it a bit. The taunting won't last forever." She said.

"But that's still not everything…" Sheldon shook his head. "The lashing out reminded me of my father. I _am _just like him!" The tears began to flow again.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, look at me!" Amy said firmly.

Sheldon looked at her with his soft, blue eyes.

"You are _nothing _like him! We all have angry outbursts. There's only so much a person can take, and you stood up for yourself. That doesn't make you like your father at all. You've been wonderful with me, and you would never hurt the ones you love and care for. That man insulted your fiancée and you, being the righteous, protective Texan man you are, you defended me." Amy answered, hugging Sheldon tightly.

"You really think so?" He asked.

"I _know _so. And I'm smart, so it's true!" Amy winked.

Sheldon just smiled. "Thank you Amy. What shall I do about work?"

"Like I said; take a couple of days off to let it all die down." Amy replied.

Sheldon nodded. "Could you call them for me?"

"Really, Sheldon? Can't you do it yourself?"

"Please, please, please?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Fine." She reached over to pick up the phone, but it started ringing in her hands.

"Tell them I'm sick!" Sheldon said.

"Hello?" Amy answered.

Sheldon watched her expression change from blank, to shocked. "Really?! Um…I can try to come down tomorrow I guess?...Yes that will be fine, thank you." She hung up the phone.

"Who was that? Was that the university? Did they think you were my mother, and called you in for a meeting?" Sheldon worried.

Amy shook her head. "That was the police…They've caught him!"

..

The next day, Sheldon accompanied Amy in a taxi to the police department, where she was required to point her attacker out of a line-up.

As she waited in the seating area to be called in, Sheldon silently took her hand.

Amy felt comforted, until an out-of-uniform officer called her through.

"Oh God." She whispered, nervously.

"It'll be okay. He'll be behind mirrored glass, so he can't see you, let alone hurt you." Sheldon said, giving Amy a kiss.

"Would you like to come with her for moral support?" The officer asked Sheldon.

"Of course." Sheldon nodded, following Amy and the officer through the door and to the viewing gallery.

"So…Is this guy responsible for you needing to use crutches?" The officer asked.

"Yes…It's broken." Amy replied, sadly.

"Well, this will be used as further evidence. I'll write it down…If you want to press charges, that is, Dr Fowler?"

"I want to." Amy nodded, as they approached the gallery.

"Now, none of the people in this line up can see you. This glass is mirrored, meaning they can't see out but you can see in. They also can't hear you; I will radio through to the officers in the room with them." The officer explained.

"I know, thank you officer."

"Okay…here we go." The officer clicked a button, and the light came on.

Four handcuffed men were led through by two uniformed officers, and they stood against the back wall.

Amy instantly recognised number three as the culprit.

He was wearing the same clothing that he wore on the night of the attack, and looked exactly the same and just as menacing.

"It's him! Number three…No doubt about it!" Amy said.

"Are you absolutely positive?" The officer asked.

Without even answering, the police officer, Amy and Sheldon all turned to look through the glass, where number three was glaring at the glass.

"Well, he's given it away." The officer snorted. He pressed the button on the speaker. "Number three, boys."

The officers in the room nodded and took the prisoners back out again, both escorting number three, who was trying to put up a fight, but failing.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God for that."

Sheldon pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"You're safe now." He mumbled into her hair.

Amy nodded, breathing in Sheldon's scent of talc and deodorant.

"Thank you officer." Sheldon and Amy said.

"You're very welcome. I hope you recover soon." The officer smiled, escorting them out again.

..

Sheldon and Amy returned to the apartment block, and Sheldon carried Amy up the stairs, and into the door.

"Hey, how did it go?" Leonard asked from where he was seated at his desk.

"They got him." Sheldon smiled.

"I'm so relieved." Amy added, yawning.

"You're tired." Sheldon said, gently putting Amy on the couch and leaning her crutches against it.

"Let's order pizza for dinner, then we can go to bed."

Amy nodded. "Okay."

Sheldon and Leonard decided on a pizza, with Amy's approval, and they invited Penny over to join them once she returned from work.

She walked through the door just as they were setting the pizza box on the table with plates and drinks.

"Hi guys!" She greeted warmly, kissing Leonard.

Amy told Penny her good news, and Penny was delighted and relieved that the attacker had been caught.

"I still don't know why he attacked me." Amy admitted.

"As long as he's behind bars, it's all over for him." Penny smiled.

Everyone finished their pizza and were just watching a movie, when Sheldon felt Amy nuzzle against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her without thinking, and rested his cheek on her hair.

After a few moments, he heard Amy softly and rhythmically breathing. He looked down and found that she had fallen asleep on his chest.

Smiling, Sheldon lightly kissed her head.

Penny and Leonard exchanged a knowing smile, and Leonard handed Sheldon the soft blanket that was resting on the back of the armchair.

Sheldon took the blanket and draped it over Amy, then closed his eyes.

That was how they stayed all night.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Smut warning! ;)**

**..**

Amy finally stirred and woke up at 7am the next morning.

Sheldon was already awake, still cradling her in his arms.

"Did we sleep here all night?" Amy murmured.

"Yes, we did." Sheldon confirmed, letting go of Amy so that she could get up.

She took hold of her crutches and hobbled towards the kitchen.

"If you'd like to use the bathroom first, please feel free." Sheldon said, folding up the blanket.

"Thank you. I won't be long." Amy replied.

She used the toilet and brushed her teeth, then ran her brush through her hair.

She emerged minutes later.

"All yours."

"Thank you. That was quick…" Sheldon remarked.

"Well I wanted to wash, but I figured you needed to use it before I did so."

"That's very considerate of you." Sheldon kissed his fiancee and ran to get ready for the day.

It seemed that Leonard and Penny had sneaked off to Penny's apartment during the night, as Leonard's room was vacant, so Sheldon and Amy had the place to themselves.

Once Sheldon was ready for the day, Amy went back into the bathroom and filled the sink with water and liquid soap, before disrobing and submerging her sponge in the warm water.

She began to try to wash herself, but had great difficulty today.

Her leg was hurting, and he other leg ached from balancing on it too long.

She almost toppled sideways as she tried to wash herself, and hung on to the sink to regain her balance.

"Damn it!" She threw her sponge into the sink, and lowered herself onto the edge of the bath, tears of frustration filling her eyes.

"Amy, are you alright?" Sheldon was asking through the door.

"No. I can't even wash myself!" Amy cried, wrapping a towel around her.

Sheldon let himself in and closed the door behind him. "Would you like some assistance?"

"Please." Amy nodded.

He placed a towel on the floor, under Amy and told her to stay on the edge of the bath.

Sheldon took the sponge and dipped it into the water, turning to Amy to wash under her arms, her back and her front.

"You shave under your arms?" He asked. "I never noticed that before."

"Yes I do." Amy replied. "Just like I do with my legs and my…bikini region."

"Yes, that I noticed." Sheldon responded, cheekily.

He continued to wash her all over, finishing with her good leg, and moving upwards.

"Um…May I?"

"Sure."

Sheldon began to gently wash Amy's 'bikini region'.

"There. All clean!" He put the sponge back into the sink and looked at Amy.

He noticed how the lighting from the window made Amy's naked, wet body look shiny.

Sheldon licked his lips.

"You're staring…" Amy commented.

"Sorry." Sheldon looked down.

"Don't be…Just, if you're going to stare, at least do something about it." Amy purred.

Sheldon moved swiftly forward and took Amy's face in his hands, kissing her passionately.

"In your current wet, shiny, naked state, you entice me, Amy Farrah Fowler." He breathed, sliding his hands up from her waist to fondle her breasts.

He decided to let his mouth take over, and then moved his hands lower down his fiancée's body, his fingers exploring her and rubbing her spot.

As Amy began to breathe faster, she reached for Sheldon's pant buttons, undoing them and pulling his pants down, rubbing his erection through his briefs.

Sheldon realised that the edge of the bath perhaps wasn't the safest place to do this, so he picked Amy up and carried her to his bedroom.

The second he laid her down and straddled her, she pulled his briefs down and moved her hand up and down his length.

He had to have her now.

Still kissing Amy, Sheldon inserted and let his baser urges take over completely.

He let Amy envelop him as he pushed himself deeper in, moving faster.

Even with her broken leg, Amy still managed to move her hips in time with him, moaning loudly in pleasure as she reached orgasm.

Sheldon felt Amy's release, and went faster still, taking one of her nipples in his mouth and playing with it with his tongue.

Amy went a second time, and this time, Sheldon ejaculated with her, trying to catch his breath.

He leaned down to kiss her. "I'm sorry…You have no idea how much seeing you naked and dripping with soapy water turned me on." He breathed. "I love you Amy."

"I love you too." They kissed a while longer, until Sheldon pulled out, discovering the sticky white liquid between them.

"Oops…We forgot to use anything." He panicked.

"It's okay; I'll take the pill again." Amy shrugged.

"Promise?"

"Of course I promise! I don't want children yet!"

"That will thrill my mother." Sheldon joked. Suddenly, his eyes flew wide. "My mother!"

"Seriously? That's what you want to think about right after sex?" Amy frowned.

"No! I mean, we haven't informed her of our engagement yet!" Sheldon looked worried. "If she finds out we have been having intercourse before marriage, she will kill both of us!"

"Sheldon, I doubt she would actually kill us…"

"No you're right. She'd hit us with a Bible!" Sheldon cleaned up the mess with some tissue and pulled up his underwear and his pants. "I'm going to call her."

"Really? Right now? We just made love, Sheldon. Can't it wait?" Amy asked.

"I suppose it could, but I would like to inform her today."

"Or tomorrow?" Amy suggested, "You don't have to go back to work until next Monday. It's only early Wednesday morning now."

"Amy, I would love to spend the whole day with you, and I promise I will. But if I don't inform my mother of our engagement soon, she will be upset." Sheldon stroked Amy's face. "I'll be ten minutes, tops. Get changed, or wait for me to help you, and we can spend the day together."

Amy smiled. "Okay," she agreed. "I'm okay dressing myself on the bed, so I'll change and make us some breakfast."

Sheldon nodded as he opened the door. "Thank you. Oh, by the way, it's Toast Day."

..

"Good morning Mother, it's Sheldon…Yes I am aware of the time. How are you?...Good, I'm fine thank you. I have some news; Amy and I are engaged." Sheldon held the phone away from his ear, and Amy could even hear his mother's delighted screams down the phone, from all the way over in the kitchen. She laughed.

"Ahem…Well, I'm glad that pleases you mother…Since Friday…Well I would have told you sooner but something came up…Uh…No, we haven't sinned…" Sheldon looked worriedly at Amy, who bit her lip. "I am not a terrible liar, mom! Amy and I haven't sinned! What makes you think I'm lying?...My voice doesn't go high pitched when I lie!" Sheldon lowered the register of his voice at this part, and Amy spluttered with laughter. "Okay mom…Yes…Uh-huh…Okay! Fine…Thank you mother. Love you too, goodbye." He hung up the phone, wringing his hands. "My mom is coming to do an intervention."

"What?!" Amy cried.

"She's happy for our engagement, but she knows about the coitus."

"How?"

"Amy, she brought me up for fifteen years, she can tell when I'm lying. She says we have obviously sinned and that we need to be taken to church to ask God for his forgiveness or some hokum like that."

Amy chuckled. "Oh come on, _everyone _has sex unmarried these days! There is no way I am giving up my Sheldon sexy time no matter what your mother says. I waited long enough to get you into bed, I am not letting someone drag you back out!"

Sheldon laughed. "I got that! Very amusing. You're right. We will stand up to my mother. I'm not waiting until we get married to sleep with you again. Like you said a few weeks ago; 'once you pop, you can't stop!'"

Amy grinned. "Well, well, well! If I wasn't witnessing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it; Sheldon Cooper is a horndog!"

Sheldon smiled flirtatiously and made a low growling noise, inching closer to Amy and kissing her deeply.


	18. Chapter 18

The weeks passed, and Amy finally got her cast taken off and could put weight on her leg.

She returned to working in her lab as opposed to in her office.

The whole gang had attended the court hearing to support Amy as she gave evidence against her attacker.

It turned out that this man had attacked many random women in the street for no particular reason.

He had had his wicked way with a few of the women who had turned up to also give evidence, which gave Amy mixed feelings; relief that she had not had that happen to her and also sympathy to the other women who had suffered this ordeal.

He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison.

All the women cried with relief, and once court was adjourned, Amy got chatting with the women and gave them all a hug.

As she drove her and Sheldon home, he asked to stop off at Glendale Galleria.

He treated Amy to a new purple dress and some silver low wedge heels that were formal but still safe enough to wear with her healed leg.

"What's this for?" Amy laughed.

"Can't a man treat his woman?" Sheldon replied, paying the cashier. "Could she wear these out of the store please?"

"Of course, I just need to scan the tags." The cashier scanned them and gave them to Amy so she could change in the dressing room.

As she got changed, Sheldon paid for his own purchases in secret and did the same as Amy.

They both stepped out of the dressing room at the same time.

"Wow! You bought new clothes too!" Amy grinned, admiring his plain black pants, and his light blue shirt. He had on a pair of formal black shoes too. "Are we going to dinner?"

"Nope." Sheldon took her hand and thanked the store assistant again, putting a tip in the jar, before leaving and returning to Amy's car. "Just drive to my apartment please."

Once they had arrived, Sheldon went to open the door.

"Wait! Are we roleplaying?" Amy asked, grinning, taking Sheldon by the collar and kissing him.

"No…" He opened the door and suddenly the lights were flicked on, and all their friends and family had jumped out from their hiding places.

"SURPRISE!"

Amy threw her hands to her mouth and squealed. "Oh my God, thank you! But my birthday was two months ago, guys!"

"It's yours and Sheldon's engagement party!" Penny laughed, running forward to hug Amy, followed by Bernadette.

"You arranged this, didn't you?" Amy turned to face Sheldon, who was grinning. "You hate parties!"

"But I love you, and this is for our engagement! Come and meet my family." Sheldon took her hand and walked her through the crowd towards his mother, twin sister and his older brother.

"Wait! Your mother never came to do that intervention! Is this going to be it?" Amy hissed.

"No, and even if it is, who cares? I'll be ravishing you after this party." Sheldon whispered back.

"Shelly, Amy! Aww, come here!" Mrs Cooper beamed, scooping them both into a hug. "Congratulations!"

Missy and George Jnr both introduced themselves to Amy and gave Sheldon a hug.

Amy noted how similar Missy and Sheldon were in height and hair colour, but not much else for twins.

George was a very built man with stubble, and looked a lot like a beefier, scarier version of Sheldon, even being the same height and wearing jeans and a red checked shirt.

"Nice to meet ya at last," he smiled at Amy, giving her a hug. "I didn't think you were real at first but now I can see ya are!" His Southern drawl was very strong, much like his mother and sister's.

"I heard ya finally lost yer v-card Shelly, good goin' man!" George winked at his brother.

"My what?" Sheldon frowned.

"Yer virginity…"

"Oh. Yes…"

"Well done bro!" George clapped Sheldon on the shoulder.

"Oh, Sheldon. I almost forgot, your Mee-Maw is here!" Mary Cooper smiled.

Sheldon's eyes widened. "What!? Where?" He scanned the room and spotted his grandmother in the kitchen chatting to Leonard.

Sheldon took Amy's hand and led her over. "Mee-Maw!" He cried.

"Moonpie!" His Mee-Maw turned and saw him behind her, and threw her arms round her favourite grandson.

"Congratulations on yer engagement, Shelly! This must be Amy! Nice to meet ya darlin'." Mee-Maw hugged Amy. "Now, no matter what yer mother says, Sheldon, if ya wanna have sex with this lady of yours, go ahead!"

Amy bit back a laugh as Sheldon's expression turned to one of slight embarrassment.

"I plan to, Mee-Maw!" He smiled.

Leonard and Sheldon got chatting, and were joined by the rest of Sheldon's family.

They were all so friendly!

Amy smiled to herself. She scanned the room for her mother, who was just walking through the door shyly. She wandered over.

"Hello Mom!"

"Hello Amy!" Her mother swept her up into a hug and leaned back, smiling. "I can't believe you're really getting married. Is Sheldon the young man you introduced to me on webcam?"

"Yes, he is…"

At that moment, Sheldon came over to stand with Amy and wrapped his arm around her.

"Hello, Mrs Fowler." He smiled, holding out his hand.

"Hello Sheldon…At least we get to formally meet this time. Are you still…Um…Sleeping with Amy?" Amy's mother asked.

Amy looked away awkwardly, facepalming.

Sheldon took a breath. "I am, yes. But please don't think of it as a purely carnal relationship. I love your daughter and would do anything for her."

"And he has, mother. He's taken amazing care of me." Amy chipped in.

Mrs Fowler smiled. "Glad to hear it, Sheldon. You make Amy very happy; all she talks about is you these days." She laughed. "In a good way, of course! Congratulations on your engagement; you both make a fine couple."

Sheldon smiled down at his fiancée, squeezing her close.

..

The engagement party was a huge success, and lots of photos were taken by Raj, Bernadette, Penny and Amy, and of course both sides of the happy couple's families. Everyone left around midnight, promising to keep in touch.

Amy was up until 1am uploading the photos to Facebook and tagging everyone in them.

She saved them and logged off, joining Sheldon in bed.

He closed his comic book and turned over to cuddle Amy and give her a kiss.

"So…Are you hyphenating or taking my name?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course I'll take your name." Amy replied, lacing her fingers between Sheldon's. "If you don't mind me being another Dr Cooper, that is?"

"Not at all. And I'll let you in on a secret; If we ever co-author a paper, you're the only person I'd share credit with!" He winked.

Amy laughed and kissed him.

"I'm glad to hear it, Dr Cooper! I love you."

"I love you too…Future _Mrs _Doctor Cooper." Sheldon smiled, snuggling closer to his wife-to-be.


	19. Chapter 19

Amy looked up at Sheldon from where she was reading her book.

"When did you actually want to _get _married?"

Sheldon glanced back. "What?"

"When did you want to get married?"

"Well I was hoping in this lifetime…"

Amy laughed. "No I mean is there any specific time of year? A specific date?"

Sheldon frowned thoughtfully. "How about in the Summer?"

"It is Summer."

"No, I meant next Summer."

Amy blinked at him. "You really want a summer wedding?"

"Of course; it doesn't clash or coincide with any Holidays, such as Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, so the focus will be on us!" Sheldon smiled. "Or should I say on _you, _my bride." He leaned over to kiss her, and Amy blushed.

"Oh, I don't think I'll get a floaty, big dress to be honest." Amy confessed.

"Why not? All women love big, extravagant wedding dresses!" Sheldon asked.

"Not all of us; I think something simple but still really beautiful will be just fine. Besides, who cares what dress I wear? You'll just be ripping it off me that night, I hope!" Amy winked.

"Darn tootin' I will!" Sheldon replied, exaggerating his Southern accent as he made sexy eye contact with Amy.

Amy bit back a laugh.

"Is there any particular date or venue you'd like?" Sheldon asked.

"No, not that I can think of…I just want it to be our families and closest friends. Not a huge wedding." Amy replied.

"Ah, good. I was hoping you'd say that." Sheldon admitted.

"Who would you pick as your Best Man?" Amy quizzed.

"Leonard, for definite." Sheldon didn't miss a beat. "Who would be your Maid Of Honor?"

Amy sighed. "It's hard; Bernadette asked me to be hers, but Penny is my best friend."

Sheldon nodded. "Hmm, I can see that this will be a tough decision for you. Why don't you flip for it?"

"Flip for it!?" Amy repeated, one eyebrow raised. "Sheldon, they are my friends, I can't rely on flipping a coin for such a huge decision!"

"Sure you can, it's simple!" Sheldon smiled.

"No, I mean it's not right for me to flip a coin!"

"Ohh I see. How about Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes. It's very simple…"

Amy cut him off before he began. "Uh Sheldon, it's okay. I am more than familiar with it; I just don't want to use it to make such a huge decision."

"Oh. Then what are you going to do?" Sheldon asked.

"I don't know. I don't really have any other friends." Amy hung her head sadly.

"You have plenty of time to think about it," Sheldon hugged her. "We haven't actually set a date yet!"

"You're right." Amy nodded. "I'm sure I will find a way to figure it out."

..

That evening, Sheldon and Leonard were working at their desks in the apartment.

Sheldon kept darting looks at Leonard.

He badly wanted to talk to him, but wasn't sure how to word it.

Leonard sensed Sheldon looking at him every so often and became uncomfortable.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

Sheldon opened his mouth, feeling embarrassed at being caught out. He closed it again. "It doesn't matter."

"Clearly it does if you keep looking at me. Do I have something on my face?" Leonard asked.

"No…I-I just wanted to ask you something." Sheldon began.

Leonard sighed. "I am not giving up my job to teach physics!"

"No, that wasn't it. I was going to ask you a huge favour."

"Like I don't do enough for you?"

"I think you might like this one, Leonard."

"I seriously doubt it."

Sheldon blinked, then shrugged. "Fine. I guess I'll have to ask one of our other friends to be my Best Man." He looked sidelong at Leonard, who was now giving Sheldon his full attention.

"Wait, what?!"

"I was only going to ask if you would be my Best Man at my upcoming nuptials with Amy." Sheldon asked quietly, turning his chair to face his roommate.

"Wow…Sheldon. I don't know what to say…"

"Yes would be good."

"Well then…Yes!" Leonard jumped up and hugged Sheldon, who tensed up awkwardly. "Yes Sheldon!"

At that moment, Raj and Howard let themselves in and were frowning at the scene in front of them.

"Oh Sheldon, what will Amy think?" Howard joked. "And Leonard! What about Penny?"

"What are you talking about Howard?" Leonard frowned, turning to face him.

"Is Sheldon asking you to marry him too?" Howard asked.

"No. He asked me to be his Best Man at his and Amy's wedding!" Leonard grinned.

"And you thought the way to thank him would be to jump on him, shouting 'yes Sheldon, yes!'?" Raj raised an eyebrow.

"You're just jealous." Leonard smiled.

"Of what? Getting dry-humped by another man?" Howard laughed.

"He was not 'dry-humping' me. He was hugging me." Sheldon clarified. "Which FYI, I am just as uncomfortable with."

"Sorry." Leonard said. "But still! Best Man, huh? How great is that?"

"Um…Yeah great, but what about us?" Raj asked.

"You and Howard get to be my Groomsmen." Sheldon replied.

"_Get to be?_" Howard frowned.

"Yes. Now, Amy and I want to get married next summer, so we have a lot of planning to do. This thing has to run smoothly and be the perfect day for her. So I will be helping Amy draw up some ideas and I will need all of your help to make a plan and make sure that everything is perfect for the big day."

"Sheldon perfect or Amy perfect?" Leonard questioned.

"Both." Sheldon answered, walking over to the fridge.

His three friends all exchanged a look. "I'm regretting this already." Leonard muttered.

Sheldon returned to his desk chair.

"So I guess this means we can throw you a kick-ass bachelor party?" Howard asked, hopefully.

"Oh no, I wouldn't care for that." Sheldon waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh come on, Sheldon! It's like a rite of passage for men who are about to get married. If you survive the night after getting totally wasted and don't go home with a stripper, then you're ready for marriage!" Raj protested.

"No. And why on earth would I want a stripper when I have a real life girlfriend with whom I have regular coitus?" Sheldon asked, incredulous. "The whole bachelor party idea is madness."

The others rolled their eyes.

"I'll tell you what; why don't we have a Sheldon-approved bachelor party? We can do whatever you want." Raj suggested.

Leonard and Howard glared at him. "Why do you hate us?" Howard shook his head.

Sheldon sat up a little straighter, and turned to face Raj. "Interesting…Go on…"

"Well, it doesn't have to be an actual party; it can be a day out or something. We can do whatever you want." Raj said, "Train ride, Natural History Museum…You name it."

"Hmm…" Sheldon pondered, "I'd like to go to the Natural History Museum; realistic, animatronic dinosaurs should avert my wedding nerves."

"Then it's settled! We will go to the Natural History Museum for your bachelor party! Or…Bachelor's Day Out!"

"Well done Raj," Sheldon smiled. "I'm surprised the Best Man didn't think of that!"

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, silly me!"


	20. Chapter 20

Amy was sat in Penny's apartment with Penny and Bernadette, on their usual Girls' Night.

They were eating Pizza and drinking cold pink lemonade, seeing as Bernadette and Amy had to drive home again.

"The pharmaceutical company I work for has just released a new pain relief drug for people who have arthritis…The only problem is; it makes your pee burn." Bernadette was saying.

Penny grimaced a little and put her drink back down.

"Sounds uh…Good." Penny replied, uncertainly.

"So I have something to tell both of you," Amy spoke up, "I don't really know how to say this…"

"What's wrong Ames?" Penny asked.

Amy sighed. "Well, Sheldon is picking Leonard as his Best Man…But I don't know which of you to choose as my Maid of Honor." She said sadly.

"You could flip for it so that it's fair." Bernadette smiled.

"No…You're my friends. I can't rely on a coin flip to make such a huge decision. It would still hurt one of you." Amy shook her head.

"Aww Amy, that's so sweet." Penny smiled. "How about you don't have a Maid of Honor? We'll just both be your bridesmaids?"

"Yeah." Bernadette agreed.

"I guess I could. But Sheldon has a Best Man, and I won't have a Best Anything."

"Well, Penny is your best friend, so it only seems right." Bernadette said, loyally.

"Yeah, but Amy was your Maid of Honor at your wedding, so she should return the favour." Penny replied, evenly.

"Girls, this is exactly my problem! Because of both of these factors, I can't choose." Amy hung her head.

"We could get the guys to vote!" Bernadette suggested.

"Yeah, except Leonard would vote for me, and Howard would vote for you…" Penny laughed.

"Wait…That isn't actually such a bad idea! How about if we got their other friends involved, too? Like Stuart, Wil, Barry and Zack?" Amy's eyes flew wide.

"Yes! That's perfect, then it would be fair!" Bernadette grinned, "They don't know us as well as our boyfriends and husbands do, so they would be going on what little they _do_ know."

"We should get Amy to list our good points, and we could show them to everyone else, and then they can pick and choose based on those points alone." Penny was enthusiastic now.

"This is perfect! And whoever doesn't win will still be my bridesmaid anyway." Amy smiled. "We should have the votes in by the following Friday."

"So is that the sixth or the thirteenth?" Penny asked.

"Let's make it the thirteenth." Amy said.

"Great." Bernadette smiled.

"Okay!" Amy and her friends had a three-way hug to seal the deal.

"May the best girl win." Penny grinned, catching Bernadette's eye, and the two of them exchanged a challenging glance.

..

Sheldon waited outside Amy's apartment door later that evening to surprise her.

He knocked his signature three times and stood patiently.

Amy answered. "Sheldon, it's ten thirty, what are you…?"

Sheldon silenced her by leaning in to kiss her passionately.

They pulled apart and Amy looked up at him with a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. "Uh…Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." Sheldon smiled. "This is for you." He handed her a hot pink coloured rose from behind his back.

"Oh wow! Thank you Sheldon! Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" She laughed, placing the rose in some water.

"I'm still here." He replied, taking his seat on his spot on Amy's couch. "I just happen to be in a different state of mind when it comes to you."

Amy smiled, handing him a glass of Yoo-Hoo.

"Thank you." He said, taking a drink. "I was wondering if I could stay over tonight?"

"Sure. It's the weekend now, so you can stay all weekend if you want." Amy nodded. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Penny and Bernadette have taken over our apartment to work on their campaigns…Whatever that means? I think they are protesting against animal testing…If it works, your lab is in trouble."

"Bernadette's lab sometimes tests on animals…" Amy pointed out.

"Ah. Then I don't know." Sheldon shrugged, taking another sip of his drink.

"Oh, I bet I do…" Amy was hit with the realisation.

"What?"

"This is kind of my doing."

Sheldon frowned. "Explain…"

Amy explained her conversation with Penny and Bernadette earlier that evening, and how they had all agreed on a fair way to pick Amy's Maid of Honor.

"That's an excellent idea, Amy!" Sheldon smiled.

"Hmm…I didn't think of the anarchy that may ensue." Amy muttered.

"Oh, there will be no anarchy; those two are friends. The three of you are practically joined at the hip…Which by the way is how I'd like to be joined to you right now." Sheldon narrowed his eyes a little.

Amy giggled.

"Okay, let me wash up first." She got to her feet and made her way to the bathroom to prepare.

Sheldon stayed in his seat and looked all around the apartment, admiring all the books on Amy's bookcase. He stood up and wandered over, scanning the shelves with interest.

Amy returned moments later in pink and purple leopard-spotted lingerie, and leaned on the doorframe.

"Sorry, I needed to freshen up." She said, enticingly.

Sheldon couldn't help but stare at her.

Amy looked down. "Do you think this bra makes my boobs look big enough?" She teased.

Sheldon swallowed. "Yes, although they are pretty big anyway."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure. Maybe you should feel them just to make sure."

"Perhaps you're right…" Sheldon stepped forward, trying to act casual, while the contents of his pants had other ideas.

He tentatively put his hands up to Amy's bosom and began to feel them. He swallowed again. "Yes, definitely bigger." He squeaked.

Amy looked down. "I could say the same for you." She smiled appreciatively.

Sheldon followed her gaze. "Oh…"

The two of them stared at each other for a minute, willing the other to make a move.

At the same time, they both lunged forward into a deep kiss, backing up into Amy's bedroom and slamming the door shut.

..

The next morning, Sheldon returned to his apartment to grab some clean clothes before returning to Amy's.

Amy had basically dominated him last night, and now he looked dishevelled and could barely walk in a straight line.

He leaned on the bannister just before he reached the 4th floor. "Come on Cooper, only a few more steps. You can do it." He willed himself.

He continued up the stairs and took out his keys, but before he could unlock the door, Leonard and Howard stepped out, looking tired.

Upon seeing Sheldon, they both grinned.

"Well, well, well!" Howard sang, "Looks like you got some last night!"

"Some what?"

"You know…"

"Oh, some sexual intercourse. Yes…Yes I did." Sheldon couldn't stand up much longer and collapsed onto the floor outside the apartment.

"Wow! Looks like Amy really dominated you! Unless you got attacked by a bear on your way home?" Leonard joked.

"The first one is correct. Amy came out in this pink and purple lingerie set that really lifted her breasts, and well…To cut a long story short, she's learned a lot about Texas!"

Leonard and Howard bit back laughter. "Does that mean she rode you like a wild mustang?" Howard asked.

"Mustang the horse, or Mustang the car?" Sheldon queried.

"Horse." Howard and Leonard said in unison.

"Oh…Then yes. And she has also learned a lot about ranch terminology, if the 'yee-haw' and the 'head-em-up Rawhide' was anything to go by." Sheldon leaned back, trying to catch his breath and closing his eyes.

Leonard and Howard laughed out loud at this. "Come on, let's get you inside and give you some coffee." Leonard said, helping Sheldon up, who swayed a little.

"I don't drink coffee." He protested.

"Sheldon, you can barely stand up. Coffee will give you more energy. We won't let you have too much." Howard said.

"Alright." Sheldon agreed.

"Oh, wait…We should probably warn you before you go in…" Leonard quickly stood between Sheldon and the door.

"What?" Sheldon asked, warily.

"Um…The girls have been setting up their campaign most of the night over here."

"Why couldn't they use Penny's apartment?" Sheldon frowned.

"Not enough room."

"Room for what? What have they done?" Sheldon's eyes were wide.

"Nothing bad…"

"Let me in!" Sheldon pushed through the door and was met by posters and banners all over the living room.

They were both different shades of pink; Penny's 'Vote Penny' banners and posters being vibrant pink, and Bernadette's 'Vote Bernadette', being a soft, candy pink with lots of glitter.

"Oh good Lord, what fresh hell is this?" Sheldon muttered, staring all around the room. "I don't think this is what Amy meant by getting votes…Not the way she explained it to me!" Sheldon collapsed in his spot.

Leonard hurried away to make a mug of coffee, returning it to Sheldon, who started twitching.

"Drink this. It'll help."

"Thank you." Sheldon said, downing the mug in a few gulps.

"Okay, let's take all these banners and posters down." Leonard suggested.

Sheldon leapt to his feet and began to peel the posters off the walls, whilst Leonard and Howard grabbed the stepladders and removed the banners.

Once they were done, Sheldon stood back. "Amy was right…This means war, doesn't it?" He turned to his friends who exchanged a worried look.

"Uh…Kinda." Howard nodded.

Sheldon nodded. "Gentlemen, get your emergency kits and brace yourselves. This will be a tough two weeks."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! :) Yes, Sheldon is OOC but that is the point lol. They need to get out of character at some point to develop. Here comes the fluff! :) Thank you for reading!**

**..**

That night, Sheldon returned to Amy's apartment with his fresh clothes.

He was still walking funny as he strode through Amy's front door.

"Hello stud!" She purred.

"Hello." Sheldon collapsed on the sofa and let out a loud breath.

"Still worn out, huh?" Amy grinned, running her hands up his chest.

"Amy, you were extremely dominant in our lovemaking session earlier. I don't think have it in me to go again." Sheldon said. "Not only that, but I was greeted with a very disturbing scene upon entering my apartment."

"Oh, were Leonard and Penny doing it?" Amy grimaced.

"No…It seems Penny and Bernadette's little Maid of Honor campaign has gone to extraordinary lengths; they're actually making posters and banners now, and managed to plaster my entire living room with them!"

Amy widened her eyes. "Hmm…I can't believe they both want to be my Maid of Honor this badly!" She grinned.

Sheldon looked at her. "That's what you got from that?!"

"Sorry…Wow! This is unreal. Back in High School, nobody would even vote for me to be the president of the Debate Club." Amy made a face.

"We never had a Debate Club," Sheldon frowned, "mind you I wasn't at high school for very long, so that may have changed."

"We never had one either." Amy replied, and Sheldon looked at her strangely. "We would have if people voted for me to be president…But then I'd also have to get people to join me." She added, sadly.

Sheldon put his arms around her. "You have me now, and all of our friends. Those days are in the past."

"I know, but memories hurt, you know." Amy shrugged.

"You're telling me." Sheldon whispered.

"Can't you tell me any more about your past? Maybe if you did, we could work through it, get you to loosen up a bit more." Amy asked.

"Amy, right now the only 'loosening up' I would even consider is chiropractic." Sheldon held his back, which was still hurting him a little.

"I'm sorry I was so rough on you Sheldon," Amy apologised, kissing his cheek, "You just drive me wild!"

Sheldon snorted. "Me? How could I drive you wild? Please!"

"You do!" Amy said. "You're so brilliant and handsome and so damn hot!"

Sheldon put a hand up to his head. "I don't feel hot. Am I burning up? Could you grab me a thermometer?"

"Not _that _kind of hot!" Amy laughed, "I mean hot as in being so good looking that I get aroused just by looking at you."

"Ohh! Thank you." Sheldon smiled, uneasily. "Well…I am telling you in confidence that I also get aroused by looking at _you!"_

Amy blushed and looked down. "Me? No, come on! I'm just plain and boring…"

Sheldon stroked her cheek without thinking. "Not to me; you're the most beautiful and interesting person I know. In more ways than one!" He looked down at her blouse, which was open at the top.

He looked back up and caught her gaze.

She looked at him with such love that it involuntarily made him smile.

Sheldon didn't know what had happened to him lately, but he was tired of fighting it.

And he even admitted this; "I'm so sick of fighting my feelings all the time."

He moved in slowly, and pressed his lips against hers, closing his eyes.

Of course they had kissed many times before, but they had been mostly quick or passionate kisses.

This was different; this kiss was loving, soft and tender. The feeling left both of their stomachs fluttering, like millions of tiny butterflies were flitting around inside them.

They felt like they had moulded into one person and fitted perfectly.

Sheldon decided to be brave and slipped his tongue in between Amy's lips, tasting the strawberry lipbalm she had on, and the minty taste of mouthwash.

His tongue explored hers, and he slipped his hands down to her waist to hold her closer to him.

Amy's hands were round Sheldon's neck, as she held on to him.

Sheldon gently lowered her on the couch, not breaking contact.

He didn't want sex, he just wanted to show how much he loved her.

They broke apart, and he dropped light kisses all over her face and neck, before looking into her green eyes.

She looked back into his soft blue eyes in return, still feeling like fireworks were exploding all around her body after their kiss.

Sheldon leaned down to nuzzle her with his nose. "Sorry," he muttered. "I needed to prove how much I love you."

Amy just smiled. "I know."

..

Monday morning, Sheldon was still floating on air as he made his way to work.

Everyone had long gotten over the 'Sheldon's-having-sex' rumour by now, so he no longer felt uncomfortable.

He joined his friends at a cafeteria table that lunchtime, smiling to himself.

"Did you get lucky again?" Howard asked.

"Of course. But that's not why I'm smiling." Sheldon replied, tucking into his Lasagna.

"Then why are you smiling?" Leonard frowned.

"I'm just very happy, that's all." Sheldon replied.

"Glad to hear it. Hey, did Amy tell you anything regarding Penny having a surprise for me today?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon pursed his lips. "No."

"Oh…Only Penny said she had a surprise for me, but couldn't tell me anything, and that I'd have to wait and see."

"Uh, Leonard…Could _that _be it?" Raj asked, pointing towards the doors of the cafeteria.

The entire group did a double take as Penny, dressed in a white and hot pink cheerleading outfit led some other girls into the cafeteria.

The guys recognised them as other waitresses from The Cheesecake Factory.

"Hello, Caltech University! I'd like to take a few minutes of your time to ask that you vote for me, Penny, as Dr Cooper and his Fiancée's Maid of Honor! Hit it, Lisa!"

One of the girls, who was obviously named Lisa, placed a stereo on one of the tables and pressed the play button.

A Gwen Stefani song blasted over the speakers as Penny and her friends began to perform a dance sequence with their pom-poms around the cafeteria.

Some people clapped along, while most of the guys stared appreciatively.

Sheldon and his friends stared in awe.

"Oh good Lord." Sheldon muttered. He sneakily took a photo with his phone and sent it to Amy, captioned "Look at what you've done. Love Sheldon xxx"

At the end of the dance, the entire cafeteria erupted into applause, and Penny winked at Leonard, who came and stood by her side.

Penny kissed him. "This man here is Leonard Hofstadter, and he's going Dr Sheldon Cooper's Best Man at his wedding, and I'm his girlfriend…Leonard's I mean! So it only makes sense that I'm the Maid of Honor, right? The voting slips will be on this table right here…"

"I don't think so!" Bernadette's voice bellowed, as she marched in and slammed down her own 'Vote Bernadette' voting slips box.

Bernadette was dressed in a skimpy, glitzy blue dress and dancing heels.

She placed her iPod and speakers down on the table, and turned on some ballroom music.

"Howard?" She asked, holding her hand out.

"As you wish, Milady!" He winked, taking her hand and twirling her around in time to the Tango.

The cafeteria applauded again, obviously enjoying the competition.

"We should have this every lunch time!" President Siebert muttered to a man next to him, who nodded appreciatively.

Sheldon and Raj gawped in astonishment.

"I literally have no words…" Sheldon shook his head.

"Makes a change." Raj quipped.

Sheldon text Amy to update her, and her reply was: "This is so not what I meant when I said 'vote'…Love you. Amy xxx"

Bernadette and Howard's dance ended, and Bernadette called out: "I am extremely organized and care a lot about my friends, so I'd appreciate if you would please vote for me, Bernadette, as Amy and Sheldon's Maid of Honor!" She grinned.

The whole cafeteria rushed forward to sign the voting slips for both women.

Penny glared at Bernadette, who returned the frosty look.

"Oh, it is on!" Penny muttered.

"Oh dear. I don't think our emergency kits will be enough. If you're planning a return to India soon, please take us with you?" Sheldon asked Raj.

Raj nodded. "You know what dude? That sounds like a plan!"


	22. Chapter 22

Sheldon stayed at Amy's for the rest of that week, out of fear.

Competitive, vengeful Penny was all too familiar to him, so he decided to hide out at Amy's.

This particular night, Sheldon was teaching Amy 3-Dimensional Chess.

"It was so nice of Penny to buy us dinner tonight," Amy commented. They had gone to the Cheesecake Factory that night with Leonard and Raj, while Howard and Bernadette had gone out with Howard's mother for the evening, and Penny had insisted on taking care of the bill.

Sheldon snorted.

"Sheldon, don't snort It's rude."

"It was a snort of derision; Amy, Penny only paid for that meal to get in our good books. And gain more votes." Sheldon shook his head.

"But Bernadette wasn't even there!" Amy protested.

"She didn't have to be. She's playing the nice card." Sheldon replied.

"Oh." Amy frowned, "Well that sucks. I thought she was just being nice."

"People never do anything nice unless there's something in it for them."

"You do nice things for me."

"Yes, because you give me sex." Sheldon looked up and noticed that Amy was glaring at him. "I'm joking…Bazinga!"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Okay, let me rephrase that; _most _people in certain situations, such as competition, do nice things for other people to get them on side. I do nice things for you because I love you. That is different."

Sheldon explained. "But Penny is trying to get us all on her good side. The others think she is being considerate. I, however, saw through the veil."

Amy frowned again. "Then why did you accept her offer?"

"I got a free Cheeseburger. Who would turn that down?"

..

The next evening, the gang had gathered at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

Penny and Bernadette seemed to be putting away their competitive behaviour and be civil for tonight.

Or so everyone thought.

"Oh, before I forget; Howie and I wanted to invite you all to dinner at our place tomorrow." Bernadette smiled around the room, but not making eye contact with Penny.

Penny noticed this and scowled, before plastering on a fake smile.

"Thanks Bernadette. I look forward to it!"

Bernadette shifted uncomfortably as all eyes fell on her.

She needed to be the bigger person.

"Of course, just wear something casual." She smiled. "Something you feel comfortable in."

Penny nodded. "Thanks Bernie." She grinned.

..

The next night, Sheldon and Amy made their way to Howard and Bernadette's apartment, hand in hand and dressed smart-casual.

Sheldon did his signature three knocks on the door and waited.

"I hope this is nothing like Raj and Priya's dinner party." He whispered. "Indians serving Mexican food!" He shook his head at the memory.

Howard answered the door. "Hey guys! You're right on time. Come on in!"

"Thank you." Sheldon and Amy walked through the door, and Sheldon handed Howard a bottle of white wine. "I believe its social convention to give the dinner host a bottle of wine at a dinner party?"

"Oh, thanks Sheldon. Hey Bernie! Sheldon brought more wine!" Howard called over to his wife, who was cooking.

"How thoughtful!" She smiled. "Come in, sit anywhere."

Sheldon opened his mouth to argue about the various seating possibilities, but Howard held up his hand. "Try out all the seats until you find one you like."

"Thank you Howard. I think I'll enjoy eating at your apartment tonight." Sheldon chose a spot on the couch and sat in it. "Ahh! No, no need for changing today, this is the spot!"

Next to arrive were Raj and Leonard.

"Is Penny not coming?" Amy asked.

"She had just got home from work when we left, she shouldn't be long." Leonard replied.

"I'm making Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner; I hope everyone is okay with that?" Bernadette called over. "It's my mom's secret recipe."

Everyone nodded and said yes.

"Even you, Raj? It has beef in it."

"Oh yes thank you, Bernadette. What my parents don't know won't hurt them." He grinned, sipping his light beer.

There was a knock at the door, which Howard answered.

"Uh…Hi Penny?"

Everyone looked up, and their eyes widened.

"Yo." She replied, entering.

She was wearing a men's sized Nebraska football shirt and sweatpants with her usual Ugg boots.

"Penny, what are you wearing?!" Leonard asked.

"Bernadette said I should wear something casual that I feel comfortable in, so I am. Hope that's okay Bernadette?" Penny said.

Bernadette looked over with a hint of annoyance. Everyone else had made the effort; even Sheldon!

"Yeah, that's fine." She replied through gritted teeth. "Make yourself comfortable."

Penny smiled devilishly. "Thanks, Bernie. I think I will." She took off her Ugg boots and sweatpants, making everyone in the room shriek with shock.

"Penny! For God's sake, put your pants back on!" Leonard cried out.

Amy and Sheldon exchanged a horrified and somewhat scared look.

"Fine, fine." Penny put her sweatpants back on and sat down.

She was handed a glass of wine, and she wandered over to where Bernadette was cooking and peered over her shoulder.

"I love Spaghetti Bolognese!"

"Good, I'm glad." Bernadette forced a smile. "Look, Penny…This whole competition thing has gotten way out of hand. Can we just forget it and put it behind us?"

Penny looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Sure." She smiled.

"Thank God." Bernadette grinned, hugging her friend.

Everyone in the room sighed with relief.

"I'll be right back; I just need the little girls' room. Could you watch the dinner for me?" Bernadette said, making her way to the bathroom.

"Sure." Penny nodded.

She waited until Bernadette was gone and used a small spoon to taste some of the sauce.

"Hmm…Needs something extra." She peered round to make sure nobody was watching, as she reached for some Chilli powder.

She tried to shake the Chilli shaker over the pot, but not much came out at all.

"Damn it." Penny cursed under her breath, and gave it a pat on the bottom of the shaker, at which point, a load of Chilli Powder shot out and into the sauce.

Penny's eyes flew wide as she heard the toilet flush and the faucet being turned on in the bathroom.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh _crap sandwich!"_ She swore, quickly stirring the sauce and cleaning up spilt Chilli Powder, before replacing the lid and putting the shaker back in the spice rack.

Bernadette returned from the bathroom.

"I love that gingerbread hand wash we got from Bath & Body Works." She smiled, smelling her hands. She held them out to Penny. "Here, smell them."

Penny nervously smelt Bernadette's hands. "Smells good! Hey listen, I need to tell you something…"

"Okay everyone, dinner's on its way if you'd like to sit down!" Bernadette called out.

Everyone took their places at the table, while Howard busied himself making drinks.

"I can't wait. Bernadette is such a good cook!" Amy smiled to Sheldon.

That reassured him. He trusted Amy's opinions and advice.

Bernadette served up the spaghetti into dishes and picked up the pot of sauce.

"Um, Bernadette…" Penny tried to speak.

"Go ahead, sit down." Bernadette cut in, smiling.

"But I really need to tell you something…"

"Penny, please?"

Penny sighed. It was no use.

She took her seat between Leonard and Amy, not wanting to look Bernadette in the eye.

As Bernie served up the food, everyone thanked her and tucked in.

Almost immediately, everyone gasped, coughing.

"Good Lord, that's spicy!" Sheldon choked, taking his glass of water and gulping it down.

Bernadette frowned and tasted some, exclaiming as she did. She took a huge swig of water herself.

"I don't understand, I didn't…" And then it dawned on her. "You!" She pointed accusingly at Penny. "You did this, didn't you?!"

"Yes. I'm so sorry Bernadette. I tried to warn you…"

"Oh like hell you did! I thought we could be adults about this and put the whole competition behind us. We're meant to be friends! But now you've gone and ruined my dinner party!"

"Oh please, you only threw this dinner party to get everyone on your side to vote for you!" Penny threw back.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who paid _herself _for her friend's meals the other night! How much did you take home in tips, huh? Yeah, I heard!"

Penny gasped. "I did _not _pay myself! I paid the restaurant, and I didn't take a single cent actually!"

"Oh sure, Little Miss Out-For-Herself!" Bernadette shouted.

Everyone at the table felt extremely awkward.

Raj sunk down in his seat until he was practically hiding under the table.

"Forgive me, but isn't it rude to slouch at the table?" Sheldon whispered.

Amy just stared in horror as her best friends shouted at each other.

"You couldn't stand the fact that I got all the attention at the University the other day, so you came in and did your little ballroom dance to steal my spotlight!" Penny yelled.

"Oh please. The only reason you got any attention is because, as usual, you were wearing next to nothing!" Bernadette snapped.

Penny gasped, and the two women lunged for each other.

Amy looked next to her and saw Sheldon staring into space, twitching nervously. He hated people arguing. She had to do something.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Amy yelled, getting to her feet and silencing her friends. "I would never have suggested this stupid vote if I'd have known that this kind of behaviour would take place! I wanted people to vote for you based on your good points, such as organizational skills, timekeeping, selflessness etcetera. But right now, neither of you would even get _my _vote!" She wiped a hand across her eyes to get rid of her tears.

"Come on Sheldon." She said sadly, holding her hand out.

He grabbed it. "Thank you for inviting us." He said sheepishly, as he and Amy grabbed their things and made for the door.

Amy was storming down the halls of the apartment block, her eyes filled with tears.

Sheldon had to jog to keep up with her.

When he finally caught up, she was leaning against a wall, sobbing.

"Hey," he said softly. He gently wiped a tear from Amy's cheek as she looked up at him with misty eyes.

He held out his arms and let Amy collapse into them, letting out a sigh.

"This is all my fault." She said.

"No. You weren't to know." Sheldon shook his head.

They stood there cuddling a while longer, until Sheldon led Amy back outside and to her apartment.


	23. Chapter 23

Amy's cell phone rang again for the fourth time the next day.

She sighed and declined the call, tossing her phone to the side of the couch and carried on reading her neurobiology magazine.

Sheldon looked at her from his spot next to hers.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Nope."

"Did you check who it was?"

"It was Penny…Again." Amy replied bluntly.

"Oh…Are you going to check your messages?" Sheldon asked.

"No. They have nothing to say I want to hear." Amy turned the page and sniffed.

Sheldon leaned over and picked up Amy's phone, just as it started to ring again.

"Hello, Penny? Yes this is Sheldon, who else would it be? Uh huh…Yes…Alright." He took the phone away from his ear. "Penny wants to apologise for her behaviour; Bernadette is there too. They have worked out their differences and want to apologise."

Amy blew a raspberry and flicked the page.

Sheldon blinked. "Penny? Amy has digestive distress right now, can she call you back? Okay, goodbye." He ended the call and turned to find Amy glaring at him.

"I do not have 'digestive distress', I made that noise with my tongue." Amy said.

"Yes, well I know that, but they didn't, and I needed an explanation for the flatulence noise." Sheldon replied.

"Yes, but you don't tell my friends that I have digestive distress, that's so humiliating, Sheldon!"

"I'm sorry. Would you rather I told them that I was the one with digestive distress?"

"Yes, if you like. Although I'd rather you didn't answer the phone at all…Sheldon? Oh for God's sake!"

Sheldon had already called Penny back. "Hello Penny, it's Sheldon again. I lied…_I'm _the one with digestive distress, and was also responsible for the flatulence that you heard in our previous conversation…You're welcome."

Amy rolled her eyes. Clearly Sheldon didn't understand Penny's sarcastic 'thanks for that Sheldon.' Even Amy heard it!

"I'm sorry; Amy does not wish to speak to either of you at present. Okay, goodbye." He hung up and turned to smile at Amy.

"See? I've got your back." He said.

Amy couldn't help but smirk. He was so funny without even meaning to be. She leaned over to kiss him.

"So, Penny and Bernadette are still your friends then?"

"What?"

"You said, and I quote: 'don't tell my _friends_ that I have digestive distress'." Sheldon replied.

"Yeah, well I didn't mean friends. I meant ex-friends…I am without friends now." Amy hung her head, sadly. "Real friends don't do what they did."

"You still have me." Sheldon said, "I'm not just your fiancé, I am also your friend and your lover. You three will sort it out soon. I'm given to understand that women are often involved in what Howard likes to call 'cat fights'. Although, there was nothing remotely feline about last night's events…"

"It means 'cattiness' Sheldon, not actual cats!" Amy explained.

"Is that another word for…Excuse my French… 'Bitchiness'?" Sheldon inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh, I see."

The two of them sat in silence for a while.

"Could I interest you in some physical contact to soothe you?" Sheldon offered.

"Please." Amy dropped her magazine on the coffee table and snuggled up to Sheldon, who wrapped his arms around her.

"I actually meant intercourse, but cuddling is fine too…" He said.

Amy leaned back to look at him. "You're offering me sex while I'm upset?!"

"I'm sorry, is that wrong?"

Amy stared at him. "No. Not at all, come on!" She led him into the bedroom and closed the door.

..

In the bedroom, Sheldon sat on the edge of the bed.

Amy sat on Sheldon's lap and took off his striped t-shirt and undershirt, before proceeding to kiss him deeply.

He began to unbutton Amy's blouse and almost tore it off her.

Sheldon looked at Amy's body, and how her boobs fit perfectly in her uplifting purple lace bra.

He reached around the back of Amy and undid her bra in one quick, advanced move.

"Wow, you've gotten good at that!" She grinned.

"I don't know why you're surprised; I excel at so many things." Sheldon smiled back.

Amy fiddled with the button on Sheldon's beige pants, and slid them off with his underwear.

She glanced down and admired his large erection.

She took off her own skirt, before Sheldon had a chance, to reveal a matching thong that went with her discarded bra.

Sheldon stared, wide-eyed. "I had no idea you possessed such…items of clothing." He swallowed.

Amy turned around so that her fiancé could get a good view.

He felt like he was going to explode if he didn't have her now. The sight of her naked torso and her large breasts, and her butt in the thong was too much.

He took Amy's hand and helped her back onto his lap, pushing her underwear aside and penetrating her.

He fondled her breasts, and ran his tongue over the left one.

Amy kept her chin on Sheldon's shoulder, breathing heavily and emitting small moans as she felt Sheldon's full length inside of her.

They both moved their heads at the same time and kissed deeply.

Amy ran her hands down her fiancé's back and grabbed his butt in her hands whilst nibbling his lip.

Sheldon made a small grunting noise, and quickened his pace.

The two of them were moaning loudly by now, reaching orgasm.

He ran his tongue over her nipple again and felt Amy's juices release all over him, and he ejaculated shortly after.

They collapsed backwards on the bed as Sheldon pulled out, feeling his semen still releasing.

"Oh God!" He exclaimed. "I've got…_it…_everywhere!" He panicked.

"Relax, it's fine." Amy replied. "I'll clean it up later."

"I'll do it for you; it's my mess." Sheldon grimaced. He turned to her. "Do you feel better now?"

"At this moment, yes." Amy nodded, closing her eyes. "Thank you."

She kissed him passionately, and as they broke apart, Sheldon stood up.

"Uh…I'm gonna go clean up before I put my clothes back on." He said.

"Okay." Amy laughed, pulling her underwear and skirt back on.

That had made her feel so much better!

Just as she thought this, she heard a knock at the front door.

Her eyes shot open like a rabbit caught in headlights.

Clearly Sheldon had heard it too, because he opened the bathroom door and whisper-shouted.

"Amy, someone's at the door!"

"I know, I heard the knock." She threw her clothes back on and went into the living room.

"Who is it?" She called out.

"It's Penny and Bernadette. _Please _talk to us, Amy? We're truly sorry." The voice from the other side of the door replied.

Amy softened.

They had travelled all the way here to speak to her.

She opened the door.

"Hi."

Hey Ames, look, we…"

"Did you send them aw…AAAH!" Sheldon had walked out of the bathroom, still naked. He covered up his 'man parts' as Penny and Bernadette smirked.

"Nice sex hair Sheldon! Listen, we obviously caught you at a bad time…" Penny began.

"It's okay, we're post-coital. Now if you'll excuse me, I have clothes to put on." Sheldon ran back in the bathroom and slammed the door.

All three of the girls burst out laughing.

"You go Amy! How was it?" Penny inquired.

"Magnificent as always…" She grinned, then realizing that she was still mad at the two of her friends, she cut off and crossed her arms. "But you don't get any details, because I'm not speaking to either of you."

"Amy, we wanted to tell you how truly sorry you are," Bernadette said. "Penny and I put aside our differences and we abandoned the competition. We're all friends first and foremost, and nothing should ever come in the way of that. We're sorry that we upset you, and if you don't want either of us to be your Maid of Honor, we understand."

Amy looked at her two friends.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want either of you to be my Maid of Honor." Amy sighed. "In fact…I just want you both to be my bridesmaids and share out the responsibilities between you. It's not fair to choose just one when you both mean so much to me."

Penny and Bernadette grinned.

"Oh Amy, thank you!" They both hugged her tightly, and Sheldon shuffled back into the room, awkwardly, causing the friends to break apart and stare at him with amused smiles on their faces.

He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well, I'm glad you gals sorted things out. Now if you will excuse me, I need to dig myself a metaphorical hole to crawl into."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hey, sorry I've not updated sooner; I'm taking a diploma course at the moment, so have been super busy with work! Thanks for the reviews, and here's chapter 24!**

**..**

The gang were gathered at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment the next evening, and the room was currently undergoing a deathly silence.

Sheldon felt all eyes on him, and as he bent his head over his plate of food, he moved his eyes upwards.

Everyone was staring at him with amused expressions.

_Penny and Bernadette must have told everyone. _He thought to himself.

"So, Sheldon…Um, how's work?" Penny asked, breaking the silence.

Amy glanced sideways at her fiancé.

"Is that really what you want to talk about?" He replied, quietly.

"Nope, so how many times did you and Amy do it last night?" Penny grinned.

Sheldon rolled his eyes, and Amy looked to the floor, embarrassed.

"That's for us to know and you to never find out." Sheldon answered. "Will that be all?"

"Oh, I'm just getting started!" Penny grinned. "You're quite the big boy aren't you?" She winked.

Sheldon and Amy's eyes flew wide open in disbelief.

"Penny!" Bernadette hissed.

"Yeah Penny!" Howard grinned, devilishly.

"I thought you were on our side when it came to people mocking us!" Sheldon frowned.

"I am, but I couldn't resist this one time." Penny shrugged.

Amy cleared her throat and got to her feet. "Sheldon, would you like to finish dinner in your room?"

"I think Sheldon was kinda hoping for dessert." Howard chuckled.

Sheldon glared at him. "Grow up, Howard." He got to his feet and took his food, following Amy into his room.

"How about a large banana split for Amy?" Howard shouted, earning a smack on the arm from Bernadette.

Sheldon closed his door and sat on his bed, leaning his back against the headboard, continuing to eat.

Amy was sat beside him, not touching her food.

"I'm so humiliated!" She muttered.

"How do you think I feel? I was the one caught with my man parts out by your friends." Sheldon replied. "Who cares what they think? I mostly ignore them anyway."

"I guess." Amy agreed, eating slowly. "Besides, I guess it's kind of a compliment. Now they actually believe me when I say you're big down there."

Sheldon looked at her. "You told them that?!"

"Um…"

"Amy! I don't tell my friends your bra size!"

"I'm sorry. This is my first sexual relationship…Well actually, this is my first anything relationship. I'm just proud that I have the best boyfriend in the world, in every single way. I want to talk about you to my friends." Amy hung her head.

"Well, they've seen it all now, even if it was briefly…" Sheldon rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but I get to see it whenever I want." Amy purred.

The tall physicist looked at her.

"Perhaps if you behave yourself, you'll get to see it again tonight." He replied, casually.

His breezy reply was betrayed by the slight smile and twinkle in his eye.

Amy caught this and grinned.

..

"What do you think of this?" Penny held up a diamond-white dress with crystal bursts on the bodice.

"I don't know…" Amy wrinkled her nose. "It's beautiful, but not very 'me'."

Penny hung it back up on the rail.

Amy was out with Penny and Bernadette that weekend, getting wedding dress ideas.

"How about this one?" Bernadette called out, showing off a pretty ivory, floor-length Grecian dress.

"Oh, that's beautiful!" Amy gasped.

"Wow, Bernadette! That is so pretty!" Penny added, feeling the material. "You know, we could curl your hair and add a tiara, and you'd look like a Greek Princess!"

"Sheldon would love that." Amy grinned, "He likes Ancient Greece!"

"Yeah…Unfortunately, I know that part about Sheldon only too well." Penny groaned, recalling her 'physics lesson' with Sheldon a few years before.

"Oh wow…Amy check out these shoes!" Penny's eyes flew wide open as she approached the bridal shoe display.

She plucked a pair of white platform heels from the display and showed them to Amy and Bernadette.

"Oh those are hot!" Bernadette grinned, still holding the Grecian dress.

"I couldn't walk in those." Amy laughed.

"I was talking about getting them for me!" Penny smiled.

"Amy, why don't you try this on?" Bernadette handed her the dress.

Amy took the dress into the changing room and closed the curtain behind her.

Sliding off her skirt, cardigan and blouse, she slipped into the dress and peered into the mirror.

_It was perfect!_

Amy grinned, loving how the flowy dress hugged her curves.

Her eyes ran all the way up, but then she frowned.

"I'm not pretty enough to wear this." She whispered, her shoulders slumping.

"Did you say something, Amy?" Bernadette called from outside the curtain.

"It doesn't matter." Amy replied.

"Let us see!" Penny said, opening the curtain and gasping.

"Oh Amy, you look so beautiful!" She smiled.

"Until you reach my face, right?" Amy answered, slumping onto the seat in the changing room, tears forming in her eyes.

Penny and Bernadette bundled into the changing room and closed the curtain.

"What are you talking about, Amy?" Penny asked, bending down next to her.

"Amy you're beautiful as you are." Bernadette soothed. "Sheldon thinks so too."

"But I'm not, am I? I'm plain and boring. Not super pretty like you two." Amy sniffed. "I don't feel comfortable in my own body, and nothing I do can change that." She sighed.

Penny and Bernadette were silent for a few moments.

"Well…There is something you could do…" Penny began.

Amy looked up. "I'm listening."

"We could all go to a beauty spa and you could have a makeover to make you feel better."

"Isn't that really expensive?"

"Not where I go. Trust me!" Penny helped Amy up.

"That's a great idea! Seems like you've found the dress for you, so now that's out of the way, we have the rest of the day to spare. It's only 10:30 in the morning!" Bernadette grinned.

"Okay, let's do it!" Amy nodded, standing up. "Turn around, I need to change."

Amy carefully took her dress off and changed back into her clothes.

She placed the dress back into the plastic garment bag on its hanger and took it back out to the counter to reserve it.

Once she was done, Penny and Bernadette dragged her out of the store and to Penny's regular beauty spa.

A dark-haired girl at the desk grinned. "Hey Penny!"

"Hi Carla. Listen, my friend Amy here is kinda down in the dumps and feels self-conscious. She wants a 'full works' makeover." Penny smiled, introducing Amy.

"Okay, right away!" She led Amy over to a chair and gave her a book of hairstyles.

Amy opted for a trim, but layers cut into her hair and some highlights.

It took approximately an hour and a half, and then Carla gave Amy a makeover, showing her how to apply her makeup.

Carla gave Amy dramatic eyes with lash inserts, and neutral face and lips.

At the end, Amy was shown her reflection in the mirror and gasped.

She almost didn't recognise herself.

"You look amazing!" Penny and Bernadette cried.

"Thank you. I look so different. I love it, thank you Carla!" Amy grinned, hugging her stylist.

"Sheldon's going to love it too!" Bernadette smiled.

As Amy paid, and purchased some of the makeup and hair products from the salon, she sighed.

"Will he even notice?" She asked, her shoulders sagging.

"Of course he will!" Penny reassured as the three of them stepped outside.

"I hope so." Amy replied, "There's only one way to find out!"


	25. Chapter 25

Penny and Bernadette took Amy to have a late lunch in a restaurant and around the shops to buy a few new outfits for Amy, and then drove back to 2311 Los Robles that afternoon.

Climbing the stairs, Penny and Bernadette went first to shield Amy so that Sheldon wouldn't see her before she was ready to reveal her new look.

The three friends chatted excitedly between themselves.

"I think he'll love it." Penny said confidently.

"I'm not so sure," Amy replied. "I feel so much better about myself now, and Sheldon has taken leaps and bounds in progress, but I still don't think he will even notice or care." She hung her head.

"Well, we're about to find out!" Bernadette replied as Penny opened the door to Sheldon and Leonard's apartment.

"Hey, Sheldon, are you home?" Penny called.

Sheldon emerged from his room, holding a comic book with his index finger bookmarking the page.

"You could have knocked, I was reading." Sheldon grumbled. "What's wrong? And where's Amy?"

Right on cue, Amy emerged from the stairwell and through the door.

"Your fiancée is right here!" Bernadette grinned, as she and Penny let Amy through.

Sheldon's eyes widened.

_She looks breathtaking…Hold it together, Cooper!_

He swallowed. "Wow…Amy, you look…" He tried to find the right words. "Different. Beautiful…"

Amy grinned. "So you noticed?"

"How could I not notice?" His eyes scanned her entire body, and Amy did a little twirl as Penny and Bernadette giggled.

"So what do you think?" Penny asked, her grin wide.

"Well, I've always admired Amy for her mind, her personality, our similarities…I always found her beautiful, but this entire new look just…enhances her beauty." Sheldon answered.

Amy made a squeal noise, and threw her hands up to hide her ecstatic, cheesy grin.

She felt like a high school girl all over again, but this time, a million times better!

"I didn't think you'd even notice, let alone like it!" She admitted.

Sheldon blinked. "Normally I wouldn't care for 'makeovers' as you girls call it, but it's you Amy. I take notice of the things you change. Obviously I don't normally like change, but this is…Well, this is a change I like very much!"

"I think that's our cue to leave these two alone." Penny winked at Bernadette.

Bernadette laughed. "See you lovebirds later! Oh, before I forget, here are your shopping bags, Amy. Have fun you two!"

"Thank you guys so much!" Amy said, flinging her arms around both of her friends.

"No problem. Give us details later." Penny grinned, closing the door behind her and Bernadette.

Amy and Sheldon were left alone in the apartment.

She turned to face him.

"I love the dress." Sheldon said, eyeing up the light blue cotton sundress. "Maybe it would look better on my bedroom floor."

Amy stared at him and raised an eyebrow. "Did you just use a pick-up line on me?"

"Yes," Sheldon looked at the floor. "Howard taught it to me…He's never had much luck with pick-up lines though, now that I think about it."

"Well, it worked for you." Amy purred.

"Really?"

"Yep. Come on Dr Cooper…Let's test out your hypothesis."

..

"So…What else did you get today?" Sheldon asked, leaning on his elbow, facing Amy.

Amy was still trying to catch her breath from a steamy round of lovemaking, so took a few seconds to reply. "I would show you, but I have a feeling that would result in round two, and I'm exhausted."

Sheldon laughed.

"Fair point. Just tell me then."

"You're really interested in hearing about what I bought?" Amy frowned.

"Yes." Sheldon lied.

In all honesty, he wasn't at all interested in talking about clothes, but Amy was his girlfriend and he knew that it was social convention to show an interest in others and their interests.

"Um…Okay. Well, I got a couple of skirts, a few tops, some shoes, and some jeans that Penny helped me pick out." Amy listed the items, "Oh, and then makeup and hair stuff."

Sheldon was staring at her. "Penny picked out some jeans with you?"

"Yes…Why?"

"Oh good Lord. Knowing Penny, they'll be skinny jeans that you can barely put on."

"No, I can put them on!" Amy protested.

"Prove it." Sheldon smiled.

Amy wrapped Sheldon's robe around her and got out of bed.

Rummaging through the bags, Amy took out one of her new tops and a pair of her new jeans.

She slipped her underwear back on, and her new clothes, twirling from side to side.

The jeans were classic dark-ish blue denim and were a slim bootcut fit.

They really suited Amy, and Sheldon told her this.

"Well apparently I was wrong, they really suit you. Turn around…"

Amy turned around.

Sheldon stared at her behind. "Yes…Oh those are the pants for you."

Amy frowned and turned to face him again. "Behave, you!" She leaned forward to kiss him, and handed his robe back to him.

She wandered into the kitchen, and let Sheldon get changed.

Amy sat at the kitchen island and flicked through her bridal magazine.

Sheldon joined her moments later in fresh clothing.

"I made you some tea." Amy smiled at him.

"Thank you." He took the seat next to Amy where the mug of tea was waiting. He peered over Amy's shoulder at the bridal magazine.

"You're thinking about wearing one of those?" He pointed to the page of Wedding Night Lingerie, at a lacy, see-through negligee.

"Oh God no!" Amy snorted. "Can you imagine me wearing that!?"

"I'm imagining it right now…!" Sheldon replied, giving Amy a flirtatious glance.

There was suddenly a knock at the door, which Sheldon answered.

It was Penny, and she looked pale.

"Hello Penny. You don't look so good…I'm gonna go with nauseous?" Sheldon said.

"Uh, you could say that…" She replied, quietly. "Is Leonard there?"

"No, he's at work tonight borrowing the free-electron laser again." Sheldon replied.

Amy peered over. "Is everything okay, bestie?"

Penny was wringing her hands. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, shaking her head.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. Thanks anyway." She walked away.

"Penny, wait!" Amy ran to the door. "Do you need to talk?"

Penny paused again. "Thank you Amy but everything is okay." Penny let herself back into the apartment, closing the door.

Sheldon and Amy stood at the door, confused.

"Is Penny breaking up with Leonard again?" Sheldon asked.

"No. Today she was talking about how much she loves him." Amy replied. "And that she'd never make that mistake again."

"Then what could it be?" Sheldon pondered.

At that moment, Amy's phone bleeped.

She fished it out of her bag and read the text.

_Ames, I'm screwed. I really need your help. I couldn't tell you in front of Sheldon…Text me back ASAP. Penny xx_

Amy looked up, horrified.

Sheldon noticed this, and gave her a worried look. "What's wrong?"

Amy bent her head over her phone, tapping out a reply. "Nothing. Just the phone company bugging me." She lied.

Sheldon just nodded and closed the door.

'_What could be wrong with Penny?" _Amy thought to herself. _'I hope whatever it is won't stop her being my bridesmaid…'_

..

**A/N: Just to let you know, Penny's problem ****isn't**** pregnancy! :) You can guess what is it if you like lol whoever gets it gets 10 points! (It's very unexpected!) Anyway, more progress with The Shamy and a little drama in the next chapter! Thanks for reading. Please review :) **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Sorry I took a while again, I took up a home learning course lately, so have been super busy studying and doing assignments, plus working, so I won't be updating as often as I used to. So anyway, here's the answer to the cliffhanger…**

**..**

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

Penny opened the door after the second knock, just as Sheldon lifted his hand again. He stared at her.

"Hey guys." She smiled sadly.

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Penny."

Sheldon finished his three knocks routine before it drove him crazy, and revealed a cheesecake that he had hidden behind his back.

"Here, this is for you. I believe it's social convention to bring people food when they are upset or distressed." He added.

Penny frowned. "Thanks Sheldon, but isn't this the cheesecake I gave you two days ago?"

Sheldon blinked guiltily and said nothing.

"We wanted to know if you were okay." Amy spoke up.

"Well, Amy wanted to know if you were okay, I was just curious about what happened." Sheldon corrected.

Amy sighed a little. "May we come in?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I know you two were busy, so…It's fine. I'm being stupid. Thanks anyway." Penny forced another smile.

"Your forced smile and negative body language suggests otherwise." Amy pointed out. "We are your friends, let us help you."

Penny gave a real grin and opened the door. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

Sheldon chose a spot to sit in, and Amy sat next to him, while Penny poured herself a glass of wine.

"Wine anyone?" She offered.

"No thank you." Sheldon replied.

"Yes please." Amy nodded.

Sheldon widened his eyes. "Amy! I know we occasionally drink, but that is usually on special occasions and when…"

"Sheldon, you know how randy I get when I've had a few. Maybe we could re-enact our cowgirl and bronco scenario." Amy gave him a seductive look as she said this.

With her newly-outlined eyes and soot-black long lashes and contacts in, Sheldon found the seductive look much more of a turn-on.

He swallowed.

"Well, when you put it like that…Hit me." He held up a wine glass.

Penny laughed and filled it up, and passed another to Amy.

"So…What's up bestie? Leonard trouble?" Amy inquired.

"More to the point, where _is _Leonard?" Sheldon frowned. "I thought he was staying with you tonight?"

Penny sighed. "He was until…Ugh...Okay; I got this call on my cell phone about an hour ago. It was a woman's voice. I had no idea who she was, but she seemed to know who I was, who Leonard was, and all of this information about us. It was super creepy! It was almost like she had been stalking us or something." Penny took a breath as Amy and Sheldon waited for her to finish. "Anyway, she told me if I don't leave Leonard, she's going to kill me. I said 'yeah whatever' and hung up, but because she knew _so _much about both of us, I kinda believe her, and now Leonard has gone to Howard to get the call traced and I just…" Penny burst into tears, and Amy quickly hugged her.

"It's okay Penny. We'll find out who did this. Nobody will kill you." Amy soothed.

Sheldon sat with his eyes wide. "Leonard has taken your cell phone to Wolowitz, correct?"

"Uh huh."

"When did he leave?"

"The same time I walked over to talk to you guys."

"Not too long then." Sheldon frowned. "Maybe you should stay with us in our apartment. Stay in Leonard's room with him so you feel safe. We can rig up the security system again like when we had the break in."

"Are you sure? I know how you are about extra roommates…" Penny asked, wiping her eyes on a tissue that Amy handed her.

"I would argue that this is an emergency. Besides, Amy is pretty much a roommate most of the time, so what difference would it make?" Sheldon replied.

"Wow, I cannot believe I'm hearing these words from your mouth." Penny tried to laugh.

Sheldon looked at her, bemused.

"Do you want to stay or not?"

"Yes, yes please." Penny responded, quickly.

"Hold on, hold on…" Amy spoke up. "This woman knew about you _and _Leonard's information, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Including his address?"

"Oh God, yes! What am I going to do now?" Penny sobbed.

"You could stay at my apartment." Amy suggested.

Her blonde best friend stared at her in surprise. "Oh my God, are you sure?"

"If it will keep you and Leonard safe, of course I'm sure. I can stay here with Sheldon…If he agrees, that is." Amy looked at Sheldon, hopefully.

"Like I said, you're pretty much living here half the time anyway." He shrugged. "Our main concern is keeping Leonard and Penny away from this crazy lady. Did she leave a name?"

Penny shook her head.

"Hmm…Curiouser and curiouser…" Sheldon pondered.

"But, in the meantime, you can come to our apartment until Leonard gets back and help with the wedding planning if you want? You know, to take your mind off things." Amy grinned.

"Thank you." Penny smiled, sincerely, her eyes still shining. "You guys are the best." She threw her arms around Amy, and then around Sheldon who tensed up, stiff as a board.

"Uh…Yes…You're welcome." He muttered uncomfortably, peeling Penny off.

..

Half an hour later, Amy and Penny were cutting out photos from bridal magazines, and pasting them into a scrapbook that Amy had made for wedding ideas.

Sheldon was on his laptop, pretending to work, but secretly looking up honeymoon destinations.

"What about this one?" Amy snorted with laughter as she held up a bright, lime-green bridesmaid dress.

Penny laughed hard. "Oh my God, it looks like something a drag queen would wear!"

She and Amy giggled uncontrollably at the hideous dresses in the magazine.

"How did these even make the cut? They have to be kidding right?" Amy shook her head, trying to get her breath back.

"Whoa! Look at this!" Penny burst out laughing again, holding up a picture of two models in the same dress; one in fluorescent yellow, the other in fluorescent pink.

"Someone call the 80's and tell them their clothes got lost in the mail."

Amy fell over with laughter.

Sheldon frowned and turned around.

"What are you intoxicated ladies laughing about?" He asked.

"Says Mr 'I'll have another glass, thank you!'" Penny slurred, snorting.

Sheldon shook his head and finished off his glass. "Just remember Amy, I am doing this solely for you, to heighten my performance during coitus tonight."

"Oh Dr Cooper, your performance couldn't get any higher. You excel at everything." Amy responded, sending Penny into fits of giggles again.

Sheldon made a face of agreement and nodded. "Well, that is true…The second part anyway."

Amy shuffled along the floor on her knees, towards Sheldon. "Oh come on! You're a sex God. The time with the cowgirl and bronco was amazing, but remember that time when you pretended that you were in the sick bay on the Enterprise, and I was checking you over, and I said 'hey, you're not sick,' and you…and you said…'Technically, I am. I'm gagging for you!'" Amy grinned.

This just made Penny laugh even harder, until she also fell on the floor. "Oh my God…Oh wow, Sheldon!" She said, in between breaths.

Sheldon's eyes were wide in embarrassment.

At that moment, the door opened.

"Oh good." Sheldon muttered. He leapt to his feet. "Thank goodness you're back Leonard. Amy and Penny are drunk, and are discussing mine and Amy's sex life. Make it stop Leonard!"

Leonard said nothing; he just looked nodded, with a worried look on his face.

"Here. We got you a new sim card for your cell." He handed Penny her phone back.

"Did you find out who it was?" Amy asked.

Leonard nodded. "Yes."

"W…Well, who was it? That crazy bitch, I'll kick her ass." Penny slurred.

"Oh I don't think so, sweetie." Leonard shook his head, putting an arm around Penny. "Remember I told you about that Korean Spy I briefly dated years ago?"

"Yeah?" Penny frowned.

Sheldon's eyes widened in realization. "No…Oh good Lord, no!"

"Yeah." Leonard sighed. "It was her…It was Joyce Kim."

..

**A/N: Welp, if any of you guessed that, ten points to you! ;) Hands up if you did guess that! Sorry to leave on a cliffhanger again! I'll be carrying on from here in the next chapter. This whole Joyce Kim thing doesn't just involve Lenny by the way…Oh, and there will be more Shamy wedding planning, so don't worry :) Thanks for reading, please review!**


	27. Chapter 27

Sheldon, Amy and Penny sat with their mouths gaping, and eyes wide, letting Leonard's news sink in.

"H…How did she even know about me?" Penny stammered, the colour drained from her face. "And what the hell does she want like ten years on!? You don't have anything she could possibly want, do you? And how is she _doing _all this?!"

Leonard shook his head. "Like I said, she's a Korean Spy! And I don't have any kind of top-secret government research going on if that's what you mean."

"Well, what about your work with lasers?" Amy questioned.

"What could she possibly want with that?" Sheldon snorted.

Leonard glared at him. "It wouldn't be that anyway."

"How do you know? What if she wants to steal your research or results and publish them herself and get all the credit?" Amy asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her legs.

Sheldon snorted again. "Leonard's research isn't his own…It would be pointless…"

"DAMN IT SHELDON, THIS IS SERIOUS, WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR FIVE MINUTES!?" Leonard yelled, getting to his feet from where he was perched on the arm of the couch.

Sheldon looked positively upset at Leonard yelling at him.

"Hey! He's only trying to help, maybe he could have phrased it better, but he is being logical about why she would or wouldn't be after these things from you." Amy defended her fiancé.

Sheldon rewarded her with a loving look, much like his koala face, but with a difference that only Amy could see.

He took her hand, gratefully.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'm just…You know." Leonard sat back down, placing his hands over his face. "Joyce doesn't just know about Penny; she knows about you and Amy too. She's getting hitmen and everything to get us one by one…"

"But why?" Penny shook her head. "What could she possibly want with any of us?"

"I don't know." Leonard admitted. "Howard's trying to find out for me."

"How can he do that?" Amy frowned.

"He's a techie; he's good at this stuff. He can place calls and leave no trace, just like she can. She doesn't know Howard, and he can ask her questions for us, like some double-agent I guess."

"Ohhh!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Howard gets to go to outer space _and _be a secret double agent. That lucky duck really is living the dream, isn't he?"

..

"Okay, I've arranged for you and Penny to stay at my apartment until this all dies down. I explained to my landlord. As long as you pay him the rent in person and don't let anyone else live under that roof, it's all good." Amy said to Leonard, as she handed out cups of tea the following morning.

"Thank you Amy, you're a good friend." Leonard smiled gratefully.

"No problem, I have to look after my beautiful best friend and her attractive in the right light boyfriend now, don't I?" Amy responded.

Leonard gave a slight frown at this.

"That and I owe you for helping me when I was in hospital after the…" Amy cut herself off. "Hold on…Did you say this Joyce Kim knows about me and Sheldon?"

"Yes. Well, she's _met _Sheldon, and I guess she must have looked at his Facebook page and found you on it." Leonard replied. "You know, where it says: 'engaged to Amy Farrah Fowler'."

"And…And…You said that she's hiring hitmen to get us one by one, right?"

"Yes, that's what I…Oh God." Leonard's eyes flew wide as it dawned on him.

Penny threw her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my God…So it wasn't just a random attack out of the blue?"

"But…All those other women said he had attacked them too! I don't understand?" Amy's brow furrowed in confusion.

Sheldon entered the room at that moment, walking strangely.

He caught everyone looking at him, and stared back, embarrassed.

Momentarily, the three friends' focus was solely on Sheldon and his almost crab-like walk.

"I can read you like a book." He muttered. "Yes, Amy and I engaged in coitus last night. And yes…It was indeed a re-enactment of the cowgirl and bronco fantasy." He hunched over again. "Amy, my genitals feel swollen."

Amy bit back a laugh. "What can I say? I'm a passionate and feisty woman."

Sheldon smiled and winked at her, before hobbling into the kitchen to make some Cylon toast.

"Nice job, Ames!" Penny grinned, "A real woman can break a man in bed."

"Yeah, well this stallion was broken a while ago now." Amy winked.

Sheldon heard her and looked at her like she was insane.

"Getting back on topic…" Leonard chimed in, "What are we going to do about Joyce Kim?"

"Well, I would suggest that Wolowitz slept with her and then she'd be so creeped out that she would run back to Korea again and probably kill herself…But he's married to our friend, so that's out of the question." Penny replied.

"But what about those other women that he attacked? The poor ones that he…You know?" Amy asked.

"Are you still in contact with any of them?" Leonard asked.

"Yes. I have them on Facebook, why?"

"Maybe we should meet them all somewhere…First of all Amy, change your Facebook password and put your security on maximum, so you have to approve all log-ins. Then message them to meet up. We need help with this if we want to stop this crazy-ass lady!"

"Right away, sir!" Amy saluted, and drew her laptop out of her bag.

"Forgive my interruption, but when will we have time to plan our wedding?" Sheldon called out. "We still need to book a venue in time, and the honeymoon, and all of the…you know…other stuff that weddings…have?" He frowned.

Obviously Sheldon had no idea when it came to weddings.

"It's okay Sheldon; I've taken care of most of it…Except for the venue, a priest… and don't worry about the honeymoon." Amy replied.

"Don't worry about the honeymoon? Wow Amy, what a party pooper!" Sheldon shook his head.

His comment gained funny looks from everyone else in the room.

"Anyway…Here we go; changing my password and security…" Amy muttered, tapping away on her laptop keyboard.

Seconds later, she was done.

Everyone gathered around her laptop screen and watched her type her message to the other girls.

Only an hour later, did all of the replies come back saying Saturday at 2 was good for them.

"Okay…Saturday at 2 it is, then!" Amy nodded.

"We'll come with you." Leonard answered. "We need to stick together."

..

That Saturday, Amy, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny all trooped to the coffee house and waited at a table. There were various girls scattered about, talking amongst themselves.

They recognised Amy and wandered over.

"Hello everyone, thank you for coming," Amy began, "Uh, this is Penny, Leonard and I believe you met Sheldon at the courthouse?"

"Hello." Sheldon nodded politely, keeping a safe distance from any hand-shakers.

Everyone sat down, and as Amy described the problem, their eyes all widened in shock.

"So you see; that's why we need to know if any of you know this Joyce Kim, or if your boyfriends or husbands do…" Amy concluded.

One woman raised her hand slightly. "My boyfriend was with her twelve years ago. They had a fling when he was still young."

"Do you know how long it lasted?" Amy pressed.

"Oh, less than a week." The woman replied, "He just started working at CalTech University, and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…Back up. He works at Caltech?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

The woman nodded. "Yes. He's a theoretical physicist."

"What?! But there's only a few of us. I'm a theoretical physicist at CalTech. Who was it?" Sheldon asked.

"Barry Kripke."

Sheldon snorted. "Well I am not surprised."

"Sheldon! He's your friend now." Amy scolded. "Have you had any strange phonecalls recently from a woman called Joyce Kim? Or threats from a woman who didn't give a name?"

The woman frowned, flipping her pretty auburn hair over her shoulder. "Um, no…I guess I had a lot of unknown calls lately but I never answer them, and voicemail is disabled on my phone. I thought it might be a marketing scam or something, so I never picked up." She admitted.

"Did you get attacked before or after these calls?" Amy asked.

"Before."

"Weird…I got attacked, but I never got any phonecalls. Mind you, Sheldon never slept with Joyce…Did you?" Amy turned to Sheldon.

"Amy, you are my first. I only met the woman once, and she was in Leonard's bed when I did! Very unpleasant woman…I never did like her…" Sheldon responded.

"Anyway…Did anyone else's partners have any previous flings or relationships with Joyce Kim?" Leonard questioned.

A few women said that their boyfriends, fiancés and husbands had at least dated her around ten years ago, but never for more than a day. The other women said that their partners only knew of her from work when she was in their different universities all around California.

"Thank you all for your help." Amy smiled, as Sheldon wrote everything down. "This may explain why this man attacked all of us. I think they were linked somehow; I think he's one of her hitmen!"

Everyone gasped and started talking amongst themselves.

"We should tell the police." One of the women said.

"Or the FBI!" Another piped up. "Or is it the CIA? I can never be sure?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes. Clearly these girls weren't the sharpest tools in the box!

At that moment, Amy felt her cell phone buzz.

Fishing it out of her pocket, she looked at the screen and froze.

"What?" Penny asked at a whisper.

"Amy, what is it?" Sheldon added, looking worried.

Amy swallowed. "Unknown…"


	28. Chapter 28

Amy froze as she looked at the screen of her cell phone.

"Allow me." Sheldon said gently, taking the phone from her.

He cleared his throat and answered the phone, placing it on speaker and deciding to use his Southern accent.

"Hello?"

"You're not Amy Farrah Fowler…Are you?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Obviously not. Who is this?" Sheldon questioned.

"Uh…Never mind. Do you know Amy or where I could find her?"

"Sorry, don't know nobody by that name." Sheldon drawled. "Can I ask how you got this number?

"My son found it at an old university he tried to get into."

"Oh…Well no. Sorry, ma'am. Goodbye."

Sheldon hung up and gave Amy her phone back. "She won't be bothering you again." He said softly, returning to his normal voice.

Amy gazed up at him. "You lied to her…You said you didn't know me."

"Yes, to protect you."

Amy smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you Sheldon. But who's her son? The only kid we had at our university was about four years ago and he kept failing his classes and going out with girls, so we had no choice but to remove him…Right little smartass he was, giving me sass over my work, thinking he was better than me and everyone else who worked there…"

"Whoa, hold on…" Leonard piped up, "What was this kid's name?"

Amy frowned. "I can't remember, it was so long ago…Dennis maybe?"

"You mean Dennis _Kim?!_" Sheldon asked.

"Yes! That was him!" Amy cried.

Leonard and Sheldon stared at her, and then she caught on.

"Oh…Of course, it all makes sense now! Dennis Kim…Joyce Kim…" Amy nodded.

"But why did they take so long to do this?" Penny frowned. "That was four years ago? And as I remember he was at Caltech over six years ago, so what are they gaining out of this?"

One of the girls in the coffee house cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Actually…He has been trying to get into Universities all around the state for years and kept screwing up and getting kicked out. I'm guessing his mom must've been really mad at him, so he fed her some bullcrap story and made it all our faults? She went crazy and now we're all here as a result!"

Sheldon nodded. "That's probably true, er…"

"Marissa."

"That's probably true, Marissa. But why was he even trying to get into so many universities in California anyway?"

"To get top-secret information, send it to his mother, and in turn, she will use it to her advantage!" Leonard gasped.

"Very good, Leonard." Sheldon smiled.

Leonard frowned.

"Sheldon, don't patronize Leonard. I think he really is onto something." Amy intervened. "It makes sense. Joyce failed, so she sent her son to do her dirty work. Who would suspect a teenager?"

"If you grew up in my neighbourhood, you would suspect _all _teenagers!" Sheldon snorted.

Amy just looked at him. "Yeah, same here…"

"Anyway!" Penny interrupted. "We can't live in fear of some crazy-ass lady and her snotty brat of a kid…"

"He's like 21 now." Leonard corrected.

"Okay, fine. Her snotty brat of a man-child. Better?"

"Yes." Leonard and Sheldon chorused.

"How can we stop her?" Penny questioned. "She obviously won't believe our word against her son's, will she?"

"Not _ours, _per se…" Sheldon replied. "But maybe she will believe the word of someone she's never met before."

"And who would that be?"

..

"You want me to do _what!?_"

"Bernadette, please!" Amy begged, "This woman is crazy and wants to kill us all!"

"Oh sure, you've convinced me, get her on the phone!" Bernadette cried sarcastically, throwing in an eye-roll for good measure.

"Come on, you're good with Sheldon, so you must be good with kids!" Penny reasoned.

"Hey! I object to that…I'm not a child!" Sheldon pouted.

"Well, you're acting like one, whining like that." Penny countered. "All you need to do is tell her the truth. Say you're from the college of microbiology you went to, tell her the truth, easy peasy."

"Not as easy peasy as it sounds; this woman's nuts!" Sheldon threw back.

"Hey, this was your idea!" Penny frowned.

"Yes, well now I realise it was a stupid one!"

"Oh wow, you're actually admitting that something you did was stupid?"

"In this instance, yes. And I don't appreciate the tone!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Bernadette yelled, sounding almost exactly like Howard's mother.

Penny and Sheldon fell silent and stared.

"Well now I think we have a way to get rid of her if she calls again." Amy grinned. "Just get Bernadette to yell at her. Problem solved."

At that moment, Amy's cell phone rang.

Without checking, she answered it, much to the dismay of the others.

"Hello?"

"Oh very funny, this _is _Amy Farrah Fowler's number! The man I spoke to last time said it wasn't, but I knew I was right the first time."

Amy looked up, and calmly said; "one minute please."

She handed the phone to Bernadette. "Hello?"

"Is this Amy? Or was the last girl Amy?"

"Why? Are you writing a book?"

"No. I want to know why these universities keep kicking my son out. He's a brilliant mind and deserves to be in a university!" Joyce's voice hissed.

Bernadette gave a slightly evil smile. "Oh, is that so? Is this Joyce Kim?"

"Yes."

"You're Dennis's mother?"

"Yes!"

"Oh great. Well listen to me, Ms Kim…I don't care what your son has been telling you, I hardly think that his word against a large number of universities is sufficient proof of his innocence. He has yet to _stay_ in a single class, let alone pass one! That is not the staff's fault, so why you're going around threatening people and hurting them, getting your hitmen arrested while you sit on your stupid ass over in Korea, baffles me!" Bernadette began.

"Excuse me, but…"

"Not done!" Bernadette roared. "You're being a coward. Maybe if you weren't so fixated with spying on people and jumping to the wrong conclusions, and wanting to steal other people's work, you could actually come here yourself and witness your son's behaviour. He has been skipping classes to go off with slutty teenage girls and drink himself stupid. Why don't you find something better to do, like, oh I don't know…RAISE YOUR SON PROPERLY!?"

The others just stared at Bernadette in shock.

"So…what are you saying?" Joyce asked meekly.

"I'm saying: do the right thing, stop blaming the wrong people and stop getting innocent people beat up over nothing. Call back your hitmen and leave my friends alone."

"Why should I?"

"BECAUSE I SAID SO, OR I'LL COME OVER THERE AND KICK _YOUR_ ASS, CAPICHE?!" Bernadette yelled.

There was a moment of silence at the other end. "Okay." The voice replied, reluctantly.

"Good. Have a wonderful day, Ms Kim!" Bernadette said in a faux-friendly voice before hanging up.

The entire room stared at Bernadette.

"Oh my God, Bernie! That was amazing!" Penny laughed.

"Let's hope she actually heeds your warning." Amy said.

"She'll have to." Bernadette shrugged. "My dad's a cop remember?"

"Yeah, but he's retired, right?" Amy frowned.

Bernadette laughed. "Yeah but she doesn't need to know that!"

..

That night, everyone returned to their own apartments, with the exception of Sheldon who decided to stay at Amy's.

As they lay in bed, Sheldon held Amy's hand.

"Well, thank the Lord that's over." He muttered. "Now we can get back to planning the wedding!"

"Like I said, we did most of it" Amy smiled. "Us girls think of everything!"

"I need a tux."

"Yes Sheldon, but that doesn't count."

"Of course it counts. I'm the groom, I need a tux…"

"No I mean; that's not as important as the venue, the priest or minister or whatever, the colour scheme, the seating arrangements, the centrepieces…"

"You did all that without me?" Sheldon looked shocked.

"Um…"

"Amy! I wanted to do all of that with you."

"Well, it's not finalized; we still have a long time. We can go over it again together. Oh, and I saved the best bits just for you and me to do!"

"What are those?" Sheldon asked.

"Cake tasting, the vows of course, and…lingerie shopping!" Amy teased.

Sheldon glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Oh?"

"Yeah, but then I realised you probably weren't so big on the lingerie shopping, so I might just ask the girls to come with me, and…"

"Ohh no! I want to be there!" Sheldon cut in.

Amy smiled cheekily. "I didn't think it would be your scene?"

"Will there be…Trying on things?" Sheldon asked, swallowing.

"No. We aren't allowed to for hygiene reasons." Amy shook her head.

"Oh. Of course."

"But…if you help me pick out something, I could always give you a preview that night?" Amy purred.

Sheldon cast her a smouldering look.

"In fact, I got a new lacy pair a couple days ago, and you haven't seen them yet, so I could give you a preview right now…?" Amy said, revealing a pink, lacy thong that she was wearing.

Sheldon swallowed again, feeling a stirring in his trouser region.

"Well, I'm not usually a fan of spoilers, but in this instance…" He leaned in and kissed her passionately.

"Yeah, well here's another spoiler alert: the front unbuttons for easy access if you catch my drift?" Amy whispered in his ear.

"Oh, I think I do!" Sheldon replied, nibbling her lip. "What are you doing to me, you vixen?"

Amy just smiled and let her fiancé take her.

..

**A/N: So yeah…I got Bernadette to scare off Joyce in the end! She's a pretty scary lady when she yells lol! I know it would probably seem unlikely, but hey this **_**is**_** fiction, and I had this planned, so…Yeah. More Shamy to come, plus more wedding planning! Thanks to those who reviewed, and read this. Will try and update ASAP! **


	29. Chapter 29

The next morning, Sheldon awoke in a daze.

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced beside him.

Amy was still silently sleeping, her breathing barely making a sound.

Sheldon moved to get out of bed, and Amy stirred.

"Morning." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Sheldon asked.

"It's okay. I need to get up anyway. Last night was amazing, huh?" She grinned sleepily.

"Coitus with you always is."

"Sheldon, you _have _to stop saying coitus." Amy laughed.

"Why?"

"Because it's…weird!"

"_You_ said coitus when we first met. As I recall, the words you used were; "all physical contact up to and including coitus are off the table.'…You lied." Sheldon chuckled.

"Guilty as charged, but who's complaining?" Amy shrugged on her robe.

"Point taken…Although that position we tried wasn't too kind on my genitals this morning!" Sheldon grimaced.

"What do you mean?" Amy frowned.

"It hurts."

"I guessed that, but what sort of pain? Show me."

"Amy!" Sheldon hissed. "I am not exposing myself to you!"

"Sheldon, I have seen your penis plenty of times, what's the problem?"

"Every time you've seen it, it's been in the heat of the moment before coi…intercourse, and its looked…appealing."

Amy laughed. "It's always appealing. Come on Sheldon! Show me!"

Sheldon just stared at Amy like she was insane, but relented with a sigh.

"Fine. Can we go over in this corner?" Sheldon whispered.

"Sheldon, we are the only people in this building. The curtains are closed, and the door is locked. Just show me, and I will see if our torrid lovemaking broke your manhood." Amy replied.

"_Broke it!?_" Sheldon cried.

"I was joking…Come on…"

Sheldon meekly did as he was told, whilst looking in another direction. "Well?"

"I don't see anything. Maybe it's a pulled groin." Amy shrugged.

"So I'm just supposed to walk around like a crab all day?" Sheldon groaned.

"Put some ice on it…I'll go check if we have any." Amy padded into the kitchen, whilst Sheldon made his way to the bathroom.

Minutes later, they met back in Amy's room.

"Okay Sheldon, drop your pants again. Doctor's orders." Amy said, holding an ice pack in a towel.

"You're not that kind of doctor…"

"Sheldon!"

"Alright…" He shyly removed his pajama bottoms and let Amy put the ice pack in place.

"You know, it's appealing even without the sexual arousal." Amy commented.

Sheldon blinked at her. "Uh…Thank you."

The couple sat there for a few awkward moments, with Sheldon refusing to look at Amy or down on himself, whilst Amy had her hand near his 'nether regions'.

The silence was finally broken by Sheldon, who cleared his throat.

"As much as I appreciate the help, are you going to sit there cradling my genitals all day?"

"Oh! Of course not, no. I was going to go cake-tasting with you today. If you're up for it I mean?" Amy answered, letting Sheldon take over.

"The pain seems to be easing, so give me a half hour and I should be ready."

"I'll go shower then." Amy announced, grabbing some clean underwear and a towel, making her way to the bathroom.

..

It took longer than half an hour until Sheldon and Amy were ready, thanks to Amy's new hair care and makeup routine, and spending ages picking an outfit.

For once, Sheldon didn't actually care that Amy wasn't on time; the minute she emerged from the bedroom with her new styled and highlighted hair straightened, her makeup applied and a flattering floral top and cardigan accompanying some jeans and flats, Sheldon couldn't keep his eyes off her.

He looked down at himself, realising that he looked the same as always.

The beige pants, navy undershirt and light blue Superman t-shirt with his boring brown lace-ups.

He frowned.

"Everything alright, Sheldon? Are you still in pain?" Amy asked, picking up her purse.

"No…I just…You look great." He murmured.

Amy grinned. "Thank you!"

Sheldon nodded.

"I'm sensing that's not all you wanted to say." Amy said.

Sighing, Sheldon shook his head. "You look so great that I'm worried another man will try and take you away from me. I just look…Normal."

Amy laughed, and Sheldon frowned at her. "I fail to see the humour in this." He snorted.

"Sheldon, I'm not going to leave you for another man! If guys stare, then great! I've always wanted that…But that doesn't mean I will go off with them. I'm with you and only you." Amy smiled.

"But what if he's like a varsity jock or something?" Sheldon asked, sheepishly.

"I'm a little old to be dating college boys, so you have nothing to worry about there!"

"What about adult football players? Basketball players? Hockey players? Soccer players?"

"No! None of them, Sheldon. Honest…We would have nothing in common anyway; they would bore me to tears! You and I are so alike, and attracted to each other, both emotionally and physically." Amy soothed.

Sheldon relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. Besides, what sports personality would be at a wedding cake bakery?" He snorted.

"Exactly! It's hardly their scene, especially on a weekend! Come on." Amy coaxed, picking up her purse again and checking for her keys.

..

Amy and Sheldon arrived at the bakery, and as Amy wandered up to the counter to speak to the woman in charge, Sheldon glanced all around him.

There were gluten-free cakes, sugar-free cakes, dairy-free cakes, and of course normal cakes, all tiers high and mostly covered with white frosting with smiling figurines at the very top.

Sheldon was eyeing up a particularly fancy white and silver iced cake, when Amy returned with the woman.

"Hello, you must be Dr Cooper? I'm Betty." She held out her hand.

"You mean like Betty Crocker!?" Sheldon asked, gingerly shaking her hand.

The woman laughed. "Oh God no; I'm Betty Pearson. I run this bakery."

"Oh." Sheldon felt stupid, and his cheeks flushed.

"Isn't he adorable?" Amy grinned to Betty, who smiled in reply.

"So what was it that you were looking for?" She asked.

"Wedding cake." Sheldon frowned.

Amy rolled her eyes. "She means what kind of cake, Sheldon? Like two tier, three tiers, four tiers. Dairy free, gluten free, sugar free…White frosting, ivory, pink, blue, plain or chocolate…"

"How many types of cake are there!?" Sheldon exclaimed.

Amy and Betty stared at him as if he was crazy.

"Never mind." He muttered. "This one looks good." He pointed to a two-tier white-iced cake with piped silver frosting swirls around the edges.

"That's red velvet cake under all that frosting! Very popular." Betty grinned.

"I _love _red velvet cake!" Amy gasped.

"Hey, me too!" Sheldon grinned at her. "And if you think about it, red means love and passion and…love?"

"I'm surprised you thought of that!" Amy smiled, "does this mean that I've fully converted you to the world of romantic love?"

"Apparently so." Sheldon nodded. "Do you have any samples we can try?" He asked Betty.

I'll go to the counter and find you some.

She slipped on a fresh pair of clear gloves from a dispenser and opened the glass counter from the back, locating the Red Velvet samples, and using tongs to take two pieces and place them on a plate.

Returning to the couple, she held the plate out, and let them take the small slices to try.

"This is amazing!" Amy nodded, her face a picture of pure delight. "What do you think, Sheldon?"

Sheldon finished his mouthful and nodded. "Agreed. This is perfect."

"Shall we go for the two or three tier cake?" Amy asked.

Sheldon frowned, thinking hard. "I'd suggest three; then at least there will be enough for everyone, and it's better to have some left over than not enough."

"Agreed. We'll take the three-tier please." Amy decided.

As Amy gave Betty the wedding date, arranged a collection and paid half-and-half with Sheldon, the tall physicist swallowed hard.

This was suddenly getting very real, very quickly.

He felt his throat begin to close up, and his breathing became ragged.

He tried to blink, and felt his head spin.

_He was having a panic attack!_

"Sheldon?" Amy had turned around and noticed his discomfort, a worried look on her face.

Seeing the look of panic flash across his fiancée's face, and the hint of sadness in her eyes, he tried to pull himself together as he and Amy left the shop and made their way up the road.

He couldn't worry himself stupid over this.

He loved her, and he could admit that now.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming." He lied, smiling at her.

Amy frowned. "You were having a panic attack Sheldon…Don't you want to get married?"

"Of course I do!" Sheldon answered.

It was true; he really, really did.

It was just scary that's all.

"Amy, of course I want to marry you. I cannot imagine marrying or being with anyone else. I'm just scared…" He winced at having to admit his feelings.

Amy took a breath. "So am I." She admitted. "But then I just remember that it's _you _I'm marrying, and it goes away."

"That's odd…That's what snapped me out of it just now." Sheldon replied softly.

Satisfied with his honest response, Amy smiled.

"I know how you are, Sheldon. You've always done things at your own pace and your own way all your life, and never been with a girl, let alone marrying one. If you decide you don't want to, I'll…I'll call it off."

"No!" Sheldon cried. "No, don't do that! I want you to push me…I like all those little experiments you do on me, and the nudge in the right direction. It's scary but it's exciting…Not to put too fine a point on it, but it kind of gave me a thrill."

"Wait, you mean you actually _enjoyed _all the times I held your hand and you complained about it?" Amy asked.

Sheldon bowed his head, biting his lip, and that was his answer.

"And…And the kisses? The cuddles? The sexual advances?"

"All of it." Sheldon admitted quietly. "Although, I have to admit my favourite one was you tricking me into asking you to be my girlfriend…"

"That was mine, too." Amy grinned. "But what about the sex? That one was on you!"

Sheldon shrugged. "Yes, well…That was conclusive proof that your pushes worked!"

Amy just stared at him and laughed. "You dog! All this time I thought you just didn't want me touching you!"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows a fraction. "That was reverse psychology…You're welcome."


	30. Chapter 30

Sheldon and Amy had gone on a rare double date with Howard and Bernadette that evening.

Amy and Bernadette were excitedly discussing wedding plans, whilst Sheldon and Howard watched them in surprise.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Howard commented.

"What?" Sheldon asked.

"How excited women get over wedding plans!"

Sheldon nodded. "And how quickly they organize everything without any involvement from the groom." He said the last bit a little louder, and caught Amy and Bernadette's attention.

"Sheldon, we went cake tasting today, and I wanted your help with looking for a venue tomorrow." Amy replied, taking a sip of wine.

"But tomorrow, I have to do my laundry; I missed tonight and…"

"Sheldon, just go with Amy. So anyway Amy, I have this amazing idea for bridesmaid dresses; I know we already picked some out, but we haven't bought them yet have we? I found this new bridal and prom store, and they have the most beautiful dresses. I think you'll like my choice…I'll make such a great Maid of Honor!" Bernadette babbled excitedly.

Amy frowned. "But…I'm not having a Maid of Honor…"

"Oh, right yeah…Because of that campaign. You've gotta admit, I was really good!" Bernadette caught the withering look on Amy's face. "But…But of course, that caused a load of trouble..."

Sheldon shot a glance at Howard, who gave him an 'I-told-you-so' look.

The waiter came over to the table to take the orders.

"Good evening, I'm Dennis and I'll be your waiter this evening…Dr Cooper?!"

The whole table fell silent, and Sheldon cast an icy look at the young Korean man stood at the table in his uniform and notepad.

It was in fact, Dennis Kim.

Clenching his jaw, Sheldon moved to get to his feet, but Howard and Amy pulled him down again.

"Uh…Look, I just wanted to apologize for my behaviour all that time ago. I was just a kid with no real social skills." Dennis offered, embarrassed.

"Oh look, Sheldon. You could be best friends!" Howard chuckled; he looked at his friend, who was now staring at him with an angered expression. "Wrong time…Sorry." Howard cleared his throat apologetically.

Sheldon licked his lips, then spoke: "Is there anything else you'd like to apologize for?" He asked, coolly.

Dennis's expression was blank.

"If you mean belittling your work, then yes. I sincerely apologize. I kinda screwed up my future, and have only myself to blame…" He began, but in seconds an irate Sheldon got to his feet and collared Dennis.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?!" Dennis gasped. "I said I'm sorry!"

"What about telling your Mommy that it was _our _fault that you failed university? What about being the reason behind her stalking my friends and getting some lunatic to put my fiancée in hospital a few months back!?" Sheldon hissed.

"Wait, _what!?_" Dennis looked genuinely confused.

Sheldon loosened his grip and took a step back.

Strangely, nobody had even noticed the scuffle, and continued dining.

"You mean my mom Joyce Kim, right?" Dennis asked.

"Yes."

Dennis laughed, which angered Sheldon again.

"Oh dude, I hate her!" Dennis shook his head. "I told her that I didn't even _want _to do physics anymore, and she went crazy. My aunt, uncle and grandparents had custody of me; why do you think we moved here? To get away from her! All she ever did was cause trouble. Spying, stealing people's work, sleeping with random guys to get information…She blackmailed me over the phone to get into a university just to steal someone's work…Well, until I grew a pair last year and told her to get lost!"

Sheldon's eyes were wide. "W…What?!"

"It's true. I live with my grandparents. We finally got grandfather to America a couple months after I left CalTech. I cut contact with mom ages ago. She's been trying to get hold of me, but I won't take her calls."

Amy and Bernadette threw their hands to their mouths, as Howard stood up next to Sheldon.

"So, you're saying you had absolutely no idea that this was going on?" He asked.

"Exactly! For the record, I'm so sorry about your fiancée; I feel awful. Is she okay?" Dennis asked.

"I'm fine now, thanks for asking." Amy spoke up.

Dennis looked at her and smiled shyly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry about…"

"It's fine. Bernie dealt with it." Amy smiled.

She could hardly blame the kid.

Whatever he may have been like as a teenager, he had obviously grown out of it. Now, he was a polite and pleasant young man, turning his life around.

Bernie smiled and waved. "I'm Bernie…Well, Bernadette."

Dennis smiled politely, and then looked back at Sheldon. "Dr Cooper, thank you for telling me. I'll warn my family. Listen, I'll explain the situation to my boss and see if we can get you a discount on your dinner tonight by way of an apology."

Sheldon blinked in surprise as he sat down.

"No, I should apologize for flying at you, it was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

His friends blinked in surprise at hearing the great Dr Sheldon Cooper apologize, but didn't say anything.

Dennis shrugged. "Ah, I would've done the same." He took their orders and as he walked away, he turned around. "Congratulations on the engagement; your fiancée is beautiful!"

Amy gasped in astonishment at the compliment.

Sheldon just smiled. "I know."

..

Sheldon and Amy had declined Howard and Bernadette's ride home, and opted to walk instead.

It wasn't far, and they felt like having a quiet stroll, even though it was lightly raining, it was cool and refreshing and calm.

Well, as calm as it could be for a Saturday night in Pasadena!

Sheldon took Amy's hand.

"Can you believe that Dennis and Joyce Kim are related!? He's such a nice young man." Amy commented.

Sheldon looked down at her. "You're only saying that because he complimented you." He chuckled.

"Well no, not just that. He had the decency to apologize and explain, even though it wasn't his mistake."

Sheldon nodded. "You're right. I think I misjudged him…Although he was a brat as a teenager!"

Amy laughed. "Who isn't, let's be honest here? I bet you had your bratty moments!"

"I object! As a teenager, I was a delight!" Sheldon frowned.

Amy just chuckled again. "Really? So what about that story you told me about your stair experiment when your father broke his clavicle? Or…The time when you were messing with high energy lasers and managed to burn a hole through your mother's fine china cabinet?...Or the death ray!"

"Alright, I get it!" Sheldon cut in, "I was a bit of a brute."

"And the time you got upset because your parents got you a motorised dirt bike instead of a titanium centrifuge?" Amy continued.

"Okay, stop!" Sheldon cried, grinning. "I get it."

Amy grinned back. "You know, I kind of liked angry, forceful, stand-up-for-your-woman Sheldon tonight."

"Really? Because I didn't. That rush of emotion is not something I make a habit of, as you know."

"Well I thought it was nice; you sticking up for me and your friends. To tell you the truth, it got me kinda hot."

Sheldon frowned. "Were you cold before then? Because I thought that the restaurant was pretty well-heated; there was actually a fireplace in the…"

Amy stood up on tiptoes to kiss him and shut him up.

Sheldon responded, wrapping his arms around Amy in the middle of the street.

As they pulled apart, Sheldon looked down at her.

"You know I don't care for public displays of affection, but this can be an exception. I did drink wine tonight." He said.

"Then stop talking!"

"Yes ma'am."

The couple kissed passionately again in the rain, Amy's hands cupping Sheldon's face, and Sheldon's arms wrapped around her body, his hands wandering lower of their own accord.

Someone, somewhere wolf-whistled and called out: "get a room!"

Amy and Sheldon broke apart and snorted with laughter, just as it began to rain harder.

"Come on, or we'll get sick!" Sheldon grabbed Amy's hand and broke into a jog.

"Since when do you like to run?" Amy asked.

"I don't…But then I also don't like catching colds, so it's one or the other!" Sheldon replied, already gasping for breath.

Amy chuckled. "Wow, you have the stamina of a little girl!"

"Well, I did fail gym class! Track was the worst. The teacher kept making me re-do laps and all the other kids who had finished, would sit on the grass and laugh at me." Sheldon recalled.

"But hey, what are they doing with their lives right now?" Amy snorted. "You're a physicist, with your own assistant and everything!"

"That's very true." Sheldon nodded, as they reached Amy's apartment block and made their way to her door.

"Am I staying over again?" Sheldon asked.

"Sure, if you want to…" Amy asked.

"Of course I do. I have emergency clothes here, and you have warm towels…We just have…Well, towels."

Amy laughed, unlocking the door. "I'll grab us a couple towels and we can relax in front of the TV. We can watch Star Trek if you want? I still have that box set…"

Sheldon nodded, leaning over to catch his breath.

Amy tutted mockingly and shook her head. "You'd better get your breath back soon, Mister! We need to work on your stamina."

"What? You're not making me do gym class at your place now are you?" Sheldon groaned.

"Yep. 60 push-ups."

"60!?"

"Yep…60 minutes of push ups to be exact."

Sheldon made a face and sighed.

Amy bit her lip. "60 minutes of pushing up on top of me, that is. But hey, if you don't want to…" She shrugged and turned around, smiling slyly to herself.

Sheldon's attention immediately returned.

"Oh, well when you put it like that…"

"Nope, you said you didn't want to do more exercise, and I can't make you…" Amy grinned, throwing Sheldon a warm towel, and drying herself with one, stepping out of her damp clothes, right in front of him.

"I never said that…It's just that you didn't specify the parameters of this push up exercise."

"Okay. I'll ask again…Would you care to join me in doing 60 minutes of push ups?" Amy purred.

Sheldon gave her a sultry look.

"This may be the wine talking, but darn tootin' I would love to, Dr Fowler."

Amy smiled, satisfied. "Who knew gym class could be fun?"

Sheldon nodded, removing his clothes and drying himself on the towel. "I know! I wish I'd concentrated a little more in school; if having stamina means prolonged intercourse with you, then I'd happily go back and take gym again."


	31. Chapter 31

Amy had her arms around Sheldon's neck, pulling him into a very steamy kiss as he moved rhythmically on top of her, both reaching climax simultaneously.

As they collapsed in a heap, gasping for breath, Sheldon spoke up.

"You were right. That did help my stamina!" He breathed. "And I can practically feel my abdominal muscles about to burst through my skin!"

Amy laughed. "This could be our new gym class!"

Sheldon just nodded.

The two of them said nothing for a few moments as they regained their composure.

Amy bit her lip and turned to face Sheldon.

"I have a proposition for you, and I want you to keep an open mind." She announced.

"Always." Sheldon replied, taking a sip of his bottled water from the bedside table.

"Well…I wondered how you felt about procreating." Amy began.

Sheldon proceeded to spit his mouthful out, spraying water all over the bedsheets.

He whipped his head around to face his fiancée, a look of complete shock on his face.

"What!? Why? Are you…Are you pregnant?"

"No! I just…"

"Did the condom break?"

"No…"

"Have you been tampering with them?"

Amy looked at Sheldon in disbelief. "Oh my God, no! What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Sorry, sorry…Then why would you ask a man that question right after coitus?!" Sheldon asked.

"Well, it's been on my mind for a while…" Amy responded, shyly. "That, and Penny says the best time to ask a guy something, is to ask him right after sex."

Sheldon frowned. "Wow, Amy that's really manipulative. Although I can't say I'm surprised that Penny would suggest such a thing."

"That's my best friend you're talking about." Amy said, icily. "And I know, I know. But I've wanted to ask you for a while…I just didn't know how to. I know we discussed it in the past, but that was purely for the good of mankind, and involved petri dishes. This…This requires a family aspect and natural reproduction."

Sheldon frowned, looking down at the bedsheets. "Amy…I don't really know how to answer that." He said in a small voice. "We aren't even married yet, and we only just got past kissing, public displays of affection, sex, and upcoming marriage…I know I've taken some pretty big leaps, but this one is _too_ big, too soon." He gave her a look of regret.

Amy bit her lip and nodded. "Of course, you're right."

"That's not to say it won't ever happen." Sheldon said quickly, "Just…At a better time. When we're both ready."

"Of course. But…You're not totally against the idea?" Amy asked.

Sheldon was silent for a few minutes, and Amy assumed that he didn't want to reply.

Until: "I wouldn't object to it in the distant future."

Amy took it.

Distant future was better than nothing. But of course, she couldn't stop herself from asking;

"How distant?"

"Let's just…See how marriage pans out." Sheldon replied, nervously.

"What if I got pregnant by accident? Would you make me get rid of it?"

Sheldon looked at Amy in shock. "Amy, you're scaring me now."

"Sheldon, I'm not pregnant. This is purely a 'what if' situation?"

He nodded in response. "Then obviously I'd stand by you and carry out my roles and duties as a father." He swallowed.

The pure thought of it scared him, and Amy sensed it.

"Don't worry; I won't do anything to make that happen before you're ready." She promised, "I just needed to know. It's something us women worry about."

"Alright, good." Sheldon sighed with relief. "I love you." He said shyly, kissing Amy goodnight.

Kissing back, she replied "I love you too. Goodnight."

The two of them fell asleep promptly, the warmth of each other's bodies comforting them both.

..

"_Dr Cooper, Amy is here to see you." Alex announced._

"_Ah, I wasn't expecting her. Please let her in." Sheldon replied._

_Alex opened the door to Sheldon's office and a pale-looking Amy entered the room._

"_I'll give you two a moment." Alex said, slipping out of the office and closing the door._

"_Hello Amy, is everything alright? I wasn't expecting you." Sheldon asked, getting to his feet and kissing her._

"_Sheldon please sit down…" She replied. _

_Sheldon retreated back to his chair and slowly sat down. "What's wrong?"_

_Amy took a breath. "I'm pregnant, Sheldon."_

_The colour drained from the physicist's face and he swallowed hard, staring with wide eyes._

"_W…What? Are you sure?"_

_Amy nodded. "I'm late. Two weeks late. I was too scared to check before…"_

_Sheldon got to his feet and hugged her. "It's okay, we're in this together. When we married, I vowed to stand by you through everything, and I meant it."_

_The scene seemed to go forward in time, to a white room, where Amy lay on a bed._

_A female doctor was scrolling a wand over Amy's stomach, as Sheldon gripped her hand._

"_There's your baby." The woman announced excitedly, pointing to a shape on the monitor._

_Amy and Sheldon both grinned broadly, just as the scene changed again to a heavily pregnant Amy sat in Sheldon's apartment with all their friends, surrounded by presents and balloons; presumably a baby shower._

_The scene then dissolved into one containing Amy on a bed again, crying in pain, sweating and holding on to Sheldon's hand for dear life._

_Moments into this scene, a cry filled the air and a baby wrapped in a hospital blanket was passed to a tired, relieved-looking Amy, with Sheldon leaning down over her, dropping a kiss on her lips and smiling down at the tiny, crying bundle in Amy's arms._

_Amy passed the bundle to Sheldon who took it in his arms. "This is your Daddy." She said softly._

_.._

Sheldon gasped, sitting bolt upright.

He was sweating and gasping for air, his eyes wide in terror.

"Sheldon?" Amy murmured from her side of the bed.

Sheldon looked down at her and swallowed, unable to talk just yet.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Amy pressed.

Sheldon blinked, regaining his breath.

"No, I don't think I did…"

..

"So, the first place we're visiting is a mansion that they hire out for weddings." Amy explained.

It was the next morning, and the couple were checking out wedding venues.

Sheldon had barely said a word that day, his head still swimming and reeling from the dream he had experienced last night.

"Sheldon you have to talk to me at some point." Amy sighed.

"Sorry, I'm just mulling over…Something." He responded.

"Is that 'something' the wedding? Because if it is, then tell me before we book a venue."

"No, it isn't that at all. I had a strange dream last night and it's left me in shock."

"You said you didn't have a nightmare." Amy frowned.

"I didn't…But it was still scary." Sheldon answered.

"Well, tell me what happened. We did dream study at work a couple years ago and I still remember everything about it." Amy offered.

Sheldon wondered if he should discuss it or not.

He looked to Amy, whose eyes were on the road, but still looked expectant.

Sheldon sighed. "I dreamt that we…Had a child." He muttered, his eyes focusing on the floor.

Amy blinked. "Oh…Look, I didn't mean to freak you out with the whole 'family talk' last night. I just wondered if you were open to the concept…" She explained, softly.

"Well, that's the thing. It didn't seem _too _scary…" Sheldon admitted. "The birth part was a bit yucky, but that's to be expected when passing a tiny human through your…"

"Yeah, I get it." Amy cut in. "Wow, so you really had a dream about that?" She asked, parking the car on the gravel driveway outside a large, ivory-coloured mansion with neat, decorative Ivy sweeping over the bottom half of the building.

"Yes."

"Hmm. Wow, okay. So…How did you feel about it?"

Sheldon blinked. "I don't understand the question."

Amy gave a small laugh. "What were your thoughts on the whole thing?"

Frowning, Sheldon looked out of the windscreen. "I'm not sure. It was kind of scary I suppose, but not as bad as I anticipated. But it _was _a dream, so…"

Amy nodded. "Well, this is progress for you." She said softly.

"Perhaps a little too much for this precise moment in time." Sheldon responded. "Let's focus on the present for now." He smiled, undoing his seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

Amy took his hand and they walked up the sweeping driveway, into the front entrance.

..

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! :) Don't worry; there won't be any immediate Shamy babies or anything. I purely wanted to add this discussion and the dream for character growth, whilst still trying to keep them as true to character as possible. Please review :) **


	32. Chapter 32

Sheldon and Amy signed in at the reception and waited for the rep to show them around.

Sheldon glanced around the hallway; it was beautiful.

It had modern décor, and even an indoor fountain in the centre of the room.

An older woman made her way down the staircase to the left, wearing a red skirt-suit and nude heels, with her hair tied up in an efficient bun.

She held a clipboard and brochure in her hand.

"Good morning; are you Dr Cooper and Dr Fowler?" she called out in a fancy, transatlantic accent.

"Yes, that's us." Amy nodded, she held out her hand for the rep to shake.

"My name is Rose. Welcome to Sunfield Mansion." She smiled, shaking Amy's hand, and then moving onto Sheldon.

Sheldon hesitated for a moment, before shaking her hand in return.

"This building is over 100 years old, dating back to 1909 when the Sunfield family first owned it." Rose explained, as she led Sheldon and Amy through the double doors to the right of the entrance hall.

They walked briskly through a corridor, then emerged into a large room.

"This is the wedding hall; as you can see, there is an elevated floor with a bible stand, and steps leading up to it. That is where the marriages take place." Rose explained.

Sheldon and Amy nodded, noting the enormity of the room.

The walls were white, and the curtains were long and deep purple with gold-coloured rope.

"This is beautiful." Amy gasped.

"It is, isn't it?" Sheldon agreed. He especially liked how clean it was in here!

"And this…" Rose began, opening the double doors at the back of the room, "is the garden where photos are taken, and if you like, a garden party for the celebration."

Amy and Sheldon stepped outside and the scene took their breath away.

The garden was ginormous!

Tall hedges framed the garden, and flowerbeds with Lillies, climbing roses, and other brightly coloured flowers lined the grounds.

There was a concrete path leading up to a beautiful outdoor fountain, and fairy lights and faux-crystal decorations hung from the trees.

The patio stretched far as well, with seats and tables placed neatly upon it, to be lit up at night with floor lanterns.

"This is amazing." Amy commented. She looked to Sheldon who was in total awe.

"How will we ever afford this?" Sheldon whispered. "I want you to have your perfect wedding, Amy, but this might be out of our budget." He looked downcast.

"Our hire rates are one of the best in the area." Rose chimed in, smiling. "Only $1,400 for weekend hire, catering is an extra £150, and the seating and buffet capacity is a maximum of 120."

"That's perfect!" Sheldon blinked. "That's well within our budget…What's the catch?"

"None." Rose replied, honestly. "That's it. We even supply a minister or priest, depending on your preference; if you wanted a Holy Matrimony or not. The photographer is down to you though, I'm afraid."

"We can manage with a photographer." Amy smiled, and then looked to Sheldon for confirmation. "So what do you think?"

"Could we see a brochure? And could you discuss some more information with us before we make a decision?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course, sir. If you'd like to take a seat." Rose gestured to the table nearest to them in the garden, and they all sat down.

Rose passed Sheldon and Amy a brochure, and called for some champagne to be sent to them whilst they discussed everything.

As it turned out, the caterers were highly qualified and Sheldon-approved, and everything else met up to their standards.

As they made their way back to the reception, Rose took her place next to her colleague on the front desk.

They made the reservation for June 7th, and smoothed over all the details, paying the deposit.

As they shook Rose's hand and thanked her, Amy led Sheldon back to the car in a daze.

"We booked our wedding!" She cried excitedly, leaping into Sheldon's arms and almost knocking him over. "This is really happening!"

Sheldon felt his nerves heighten again, but swallowed hard and pushed them down as he held Amy.

He couldn't help but feel excited himself.

That was strange.

"It certainly is." He replied.

..

Amy and Sheldon spent the day traipsing around the stores at Glendale Galleria, and Sheldon couldn't help but remember back a few months when he had sought Penny's help in this exact mall, looking for Amy's birthday present, which had coincidentally led to all of this!

He suddenly had a brainwave.

"I'll be right back."

Amy frowned. "Where are you going?"

"It's a surprise. I'll meet you at Quiznos at, say, one thirty." He kissed Amy and hurried off.

"O…kay?" Amy was puzzled.

She turned around and bumped into someone. "Oops, sorry."

She got no reply, but the person still stood there.

Amy looked up at the shy, smiling face in front of her. "Oh hello, Raj!" She smiled. "Sheldon and I just booked our wedding venue! June 7th at 12 O'clock midday."

Raj widened his eyes and grinned, putting both thumbs up.

"Uh…Let's get you a drink, that might help." Amy chuckled.

Raj nodded vigorously, as they headed for a liquor store.

After purchasing a flask of whisky, Raj took a swig, and then hid it in his inside pocket.

"Ahh. Good job I took the bus here!" He said. "So, you say you and Sheldon booked your wedding venue? That's pretty exciting stuff!"

Amy grinned. "I know! It's at Sunfield Mansion."

"Ooh, very swish! So where is the romantic devil?" Raj scanned the area.

"I don't know…He said he was going to get a surprise or something, and walked off!" Amy shrugged. "But I'm meeting him at Quiznos at one thirty."

"That's like a whole two hours away!" Raj frowned.

"Yeah I know. Anyway, what are you doing here?" Amy asked, as they entered a stationary store, looking for save-the-dates.

"I got bored, so I came out to look around." Raj replied. "It gets pretty boring and lonely being on your own all the time."

"I know…" Amy nodded.

"But you have Sheldon." Raj pointed out.

"You have Lucy." Amy countered.

"Yes, but we don't see much of each other; we both have some pretty serious social skill problems." Raj laughed. "But it's going well, so…Who knows?"

Amy smiled. "What do you think of these?" She held up some white save-the-date cards, with fancy silver trimming and a ribbon fastening. At the front of the cards were two silver horseshoes and a wedding bell.

"Beautiful!" Raj nodded, taking another secret sip of his drink, away from any cameras.

Amy nodded and proceeded to pay for the cards.

Exiting the store, Amy looked at her watch. "We still have an hour and forty minutes to kill…Feel like helping me with some clothes shopping?"

Raj's face lit up. "Of course! Thank you Amy. It's always more fun to be at the mall with a friend than on your own."

Amy smiled at him. "Exactly, and you have some of the best fashion advice!"

..

One thirty rolled around, and Amy and Raj found themselves having to run to Quiznos to meet Sheldon.

Reaching the food court, they saw Sheldon sat at a table in Quiznos, playing on his phone.

"Sorry I'm late; I bumped into Raj and he helped me pick out some save-the-dates and we did a little clothes shopping." Amy panted, upon reaching the table.

"That's quite alright." Sheldon replied, unfazed by Amy being five minutes late. "Hi Raj Pull up a seat."

"Have you ordered food yet?" Amy asked, as Raj pulled a spare chair to the table.

"No, I was waiting for you. What would you both like? Lunch is on me." Sheldon responded, taking out a $20 bill.

"I'd love a ham and turkey with cheese and lettuce please." Amy replied. "And a lemonade."

"Alright. Raj, how about you?"

"Well, I'm watching the pounds for the wedding, so I'll have what Amy's having, and a Diet Coke please. Thanks Sheldon."

Sheldon and Amy both stared at Raj.

"Fascinating." Sheldon muttered. "You're not the one getting married, yet you're still watching your weight?"

"I represent your close friends; we must look good in order to make you look good."

Sheldon frowned at this logic.

"Forgive me, but isn't the main focus of any wedding the bride?" He asked.

Raj sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'll have a meatball sub please. But keep the Diet Coke; I still need a bit of self-esteem to fit into that suit."

Sheldon bit his lip and gave Amy a knowing glance, saying nothing.

When he returned to the table minutes later with their sandwiches and drinks, Amy tried to peer into Sheldon's shopping bag.

"Excuse me, missy! You can't look in there!" Sheldon exclaimed.

"Why not? What's the surprise?" Amy pouted.

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"I could _act _surprised."

"No. Sorry, you will have to wait until tonight." Sheldon replied firmly, taking a mouthful of sandwich.

"Oh boy…I picked the wrong day to hang out with you guys." Raj joked. "Do you have some kinky sex toy in there or something?"

Sheldon remained silent, and Raj exchanged a glance with Amy.

"Tonight just got interesting." Amy whispered.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Thought I'd point out (before anyone else does) the £ sign in the last chapter…It was an accident. The £ and $ are next to each other on British keyboards, and I moved here a while ago, so sue me lol. That's also the reason some of my spelling is the British spelling. (But we can blame spellcheck for that one! :D) Haha in case anyone was wondering. If not, then ignore this ;)**

**..**

Amy dropped a very grateful Raj at his apartment later that afternoon, and continued on with Sheldon to his and Leonard's apartment.

As they ascended the stairs and walked through the door, they caught sight of Leonard and Penny making out on the couch.

"Oh good grief." Sheldon muttered.

Leonard and Penny sprang apart, smoothing their clothes and hair down.

"Ahem, so how was the mansion?" Penny asked innocently.

"We hired it. It was perfect!" Amy sighed, wistfully. "We finished early, so we went to Glendale Galleria, bumped into Raj and did some shopping. Now we're here."

"Great! What did you get?" Penny asked, patting the seat beside her for Amy to sit in, once Leonard had vacated it to make drinks.

"Coffee, Amy?" Leonard asked.

"Please." Amy smiled, before taking out the save-the-date cards and handing them to Penny.

"These are beautiful!" Penny gasped. "I am so having these when I get married."

"So, you're thinking about getting married then?" Leonard asked hopefully.

"You know I am, sweetie. Penny replied, before turning back to Amy. "So, what else?"

Amy took out some new clothes that Raj had helped her pick out, and some makeup.

"Ooh, MAC! Very nice; wish I could afford this." Penny said, taking the lid off a peach coloured lipstick to get a better look.

"Um, well actually…" Amy trailed off, pulling two small gift bags out of her shopping bag. "I got one of these for you and Bernadette. This one is yours." She handed Penny the small, holographic gift bag and Penny peered inside.

Her bag contained a foundation, a light lilac eye shadow, mascara and a natural peach lip gloss.

"Oh, Amy! You didn't have to, I can't accept this." Penny said, modestly.

"Yes you can; think of it as a thank you to you and Bernadette for being my bridesmaids. It's nothing."

"Amy, it's MAC, of course it's something! Thank you!" Penny threw her arms around Amy.

"Wow Amy, that's really generous." Leonard smiled, as he and Sheldon carried the drinks over.

"Is that bag yours, Sheldon?" Penny asked, pointing to the large bag by his spot.

"Yes." Sheldon lunged forward and grabbed the bag, carrying it to his room. "Amy will you come and help me?"

"Ooooh!" Penny cooed as Amy followed Sheldon to his room and closed the door.

"So what's in the bag? You're scaring me." Amy breathed.

"Well…Remember how this all started?" Sheldon asked, opening up the bag.

"The date in the coffee house?" Amy frowned.

"No, I meant the real progress of our relationship."

"Oh…Um, yes…?"

"What do you say you and I make this a regular thing?" Sheldon asked, producing a big basket of bath and shower stuff.

"I got raspberry and passionfruit this time; I hope that's to your liking."

"It's great Sheldon, although I'm confused…It's not my birthday, and Christmas isn't for another month. What is this in aid of?" Amy asked.

"Like I said…Do you remember how the fast progress of our relationship first started?" Sheldon hinted.

"Yes…You gave me lots of gifts for my birthday, gave me a…" She gasped. "A bath and a massage?!"

Sheldon nodded. "As I said before, what would you say to making this a regular occurrence?"

"I'd love it!" Amy grinned. "But what can I do for you?"

"I propose we bathe together. And then when I massage you, that could be an initiator of intercourse." Sheldon replied.

"You want to bathe with me? But what about the germs?"

"Amy, it's a bath…The germs will was right off."

"Yeah…_into _the bath, which we are sharing!"

"Are you trying to put me off?" Sheldon frowned.

"No, no! I just never expected you to propose this, given your fear of germs." Amy replied.

"Well…It's you Amy. I know that you are clean, and if I were to catch anything, I wouldn't want to catch it off anyone other than you." Sheldon answered, looking down at the floor.

Amy smiled. "Aww, you're so sweet!" She kissed him. "To be honest, I thought you _had _bought a sex toy." She laughed.

Sheldon looked up at her wordlessly.

"Sheldon…What else did you buy?" Amy asked, cautiously.

"Well, although the massage oil in the gift basket provides sufficient arousal as it is, I thought we could perhaps spice things up a bit…" He trailed off.

"Really? You of all people want to 'spice things up a bit'?" Amy blinked.

Sheldon gave her a withering look, as he pulled something out of the bottom of the bag.

"I believe you are familiar with this?" He asked, holding up a black negligee with little pink bows on the straps.

Amy's eyes were on stalks as she stared at the garment that her fiancé was currently holding.

"Y…You got me a negligee?"

"I like when you wear lacy underwear." He said in a small voice. "Penny kept talking about this place called Victoria's Secret…Although ironically, they didn't make their products very secretive. They were positively in your face, which intimidated me a little, so I grabbed one, paid and got the heck out of there."

Amy glanced at the label. "Well, you got the right size." She smiled.

"So…What do you say we try these out now?" Sheldon asked.

"Leonard and Penny are here, they'll hear us!" Amy protested.

"Do you know how many times I have had to hear them have coitus in the past? They can deal with it, and suffer in silence like I did."

Amy frowned. "Uh, Sheldon, from what I heard, your suffering was far from silent."

"Well, I had to say something! It became very disturbing. But now, I can have my revenge." Sheldon gave a slightly evil smile.

Amy raised her eyebrows at him.

"I mean…Now I can give my fiancée the sweet loving she deserves…" Sheldon tried again.

"Better. I'll go and fill the bath." Amy let herself out of the room, and found Leonard and Penny had gone.

She peered behind her to look at Leonard's bedroom door and found it wide open.

"I think they've gone out." Amy called.

"Oh. Perfect timing." Sheldon replied, bringing the basket with them into the bathroom as Amy ran the water.

Sheldon opened up the basket, whilst removing his shirt, shyly.

Amy filled the bathtub with water and mixed in some of the raspberry and passionfruit bubble bath.

She found some raspberry and passionfruit tealight candles in the basket and lit a few, placing them around the bathroom.

She turned to Sheldon, who stood awkwardly in his boxers.

"I've seen you naked before, you know." She smiled. "Just take them off."

As if to prove a point, Amy stripped herself of her clothes, finishing by removing her bra and standing naked in front of Sheldon.

Swallowing, he gingerly removed his underwear and tried to cross his legs.

Amy moved towards him, placing her hands on his chest and pressing her body against his, kissing him passionately.

She moved momentarily to lock the door, and then returned to kiss Sheldon.

The feel of her soft, warm skin against his sent a tingle running through him, and her breasts pressed against him was turning him on more than he'd like to admit.

As the kiss deepened, he felt himself becoming erect, and flinched, standing back and covering himself.

"Maybe we should get in the bath now." He suggested, his eyes darting around the room.

Amy turned the lights off, and then turned the water off.

The room was now dimly lit by the candles dotted around the room.

The bath was lovely and warm and full of bubbles.

Amy climbed in, followed by Sheldon.

"I can't believe I suggested this." He laughed nervously.

"Why? What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Nothing. I just feel exposed."

"Well, you _are_ naked!"

"Yes, well so are you."

Amy gave a flirtatious smile, and took his hand, pulling him towards her.

She proceeded to kiss him again, and this time he didn't pull back.

Sheldon pulled himself on top of her and entered.

Bath sex was a lot more difficult, and Sheldon found himself having to pull Amy onto his lap in order to maintain a steady rhythm.

As she rocked back and forth, Amy realised that she liked this position; maybe they should try it in the bedroom too!

He was fully inside her now, and she could feel everything.

She felt his length tense up inside her, as if he was trying to hold back.

Both of them were moaning loudly now, as they reached climax and released together.

Amy climbed off of his lap, but continued to kiss him.

"Amy…Can we please vacate the bath now? It's now become a hygiene hazard." Sheldon asked.

"Oh of course, sorry." Amy let the water out, and they both climbed out, wrapping up in warm towels.

As they padded out of the bathroom to sneak into Sheldon's room again, they stopped in their tracks.

Leonard and Penny were sitting in the front room, staring at them.

"Oh, when did you get back?" Sheldon asked cautiously.

"About fifteen minutes ago. We went to get us all Chinese food, and then we heard you two and decided that we would wait for the nausea to pass." Leonard responded.

"You _heard _us!?" Sheldon cried.

"Sweetie, it was hard not to." Penny grimaced. "Although it's nice to know you both did a good job."

Amy and Sheldon's eyes widened, and their cheeks flushed.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to kill myself now." Sheldon muttered as he grabbed his clothes from the bathroom, and then scurried back into his room, followed by Amy.

"How humiliating." Sheldon sighed.

"I know. I thought they had gone to Penny's or gone out for the night." Amy replied, pulling her clothes back on.

"I think we should do this at your apartment from now on. Unless those two go out for a longer amount of time, and let us know!" Sheldon suggested.

"Agreed…But for now we have to face them and eat dinner." Amy replied.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Wow! Thank you for the reviews! :) I see I have a couple new reviewers, so thank you so much! ****WARNING:**** Major smut in this chapter…Enter at your own risk. (Pun not intended!)**

**..**

Dinner was awkward and uncomfortable for everyone.

One of the four friends spoke, their eyes focused on their plates.

Amy cleared her throat. "So, Penny…What have you and Leonard been up to today?"

"Not much." Penny answered, glad that the conversation was now on safe territory. "We did some laundry and then went grocery shopping, and Leonard showed me how to play Mystic Warlords of Ka."

"It's _Ka'a!" _Sheldon corrected.

"Whatever. It was boring anyway." Penny shrugged.

"Did you play the original version or the Wild West and Wizards expansion pack?" Sheldon inquired.

"Uh…Leonard?" Penny looked to her boyfriend for help.

"The original." Leonard said, between mouthfuls.

"No wonder you were bored then; the Wild West and Wizards expansion pack is miles better than the original. It helps if you dress for the occasion." Sheldon answered.

"Last time we played, Sheldon wore a Stetson and boots with spurs." Leonard explained.

Penny and Amy both looked at Sheldon, biting back laughter.

"But I made it entertaining, did I not?" Sheldon argued.

Leonard just looked at him. "Yes, but the laughter was aimed _at _you, not with you."

"Speaking of dressing up." Penny spoke up, "have you guys dressed up yet?" She nodded at Amy and Sheldon.

Sheldon frowned. "Well, we dressed up for the Halloween party at the comic book store…"

"No I mean in the bedroom…"

"Oh. Uh no…Not yet anyway."

"Yet!?"

"Sheldon bought me a lacy negligee." Amy explained.

Sheldon flinched at this in embarrassment. "Amy! That was meant to be a secret!"

"Yes, but you don't like keeping secrets…"

"I do when they involve you and me."

Penny's eyes were wide, and Leonard just stared with a slight frown.

"You're dressing up now?" He asked.

"Well, I might as well tell you now." Sheldon sighed. "Yes. And also, we just had coitus in the bathtub."

Leonard dropped his fork and covered his face with a hand. "Sheldon, we share that tub!"

"It's okay, I'll wash it tonight." Sheldon shrugged.

"The germs will have already spread!" Leonard cried.

"Leonard, you really need to calm down. These germs won't kill you." Sheldon replied.

Leonard whipped his head round, eyes wide in disbelief. "This coming from the man who won't let me stand too close to the mirror in case I get saliva on it!"

Amy and Penny exchanged a glance, and raised their eyebrows.

"Fellas, please!" Penny interrupted. "Let's get back to a more civilised topic."

"Fine." Sheldon and Leonard said in unison.

The room fell silent for a few moments.

"So, how was bath sex?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon looked at him. "Incredible."

..

"Well…Tonight was…Fun?" Amy blinked as she stood at the doorway of 4A later that night.

Leonard had gone to stay at Penny's apartment for the night.

"Probably to try out coitus in a clean bathtub." Sheldon had said at the time.

"You don't have to leave…" He was saying now. "If you'd like to stay, then…Stay?"

"Are you sure?" Amy asked.

"Yes, besides I would feel much better knowing you were safe with me, instead of wandering the dark streets."

"I drove us here, remember?"

"Well…It's still safer here."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "You want to have sex again, don't you?"

"Yes." Sheldon admitted, looking down at the floor.

"Okay." Amy walked back into the room again, and Sheldon locked the door.

He turned around, and found that Amy had disappeared.

"Amy? Where did you go?" He called out.

He checked behind the couch, and in the cupboard, before trying the bathroom.

"Looking for me?"

Sheldon turned his head around, and found Amy standing in his bedroom doorway, wearing nothing but the negligee and panties.

Sheldon swallowed. "You changed quickly."

Amy ran her hands through her hair to make the curls she had created that day, look bigger.

Licking her lips, she backed Sheldon up against the wall in the hallway.

"I'm not quite sure what you're trying to do, but I'm incredibly aroused." He said.

"That's _exactly_ what I was trying to do." Amy replied, planting a soft kiss on his lips. She pulled away, and Sheldon slowly opened his eyes, his lips straightening out again, still wanting more from the kiss.

Amy backed away slowly and Sheldon watched her, not entirely sure what to do.

_Do I follow her?_

He tried this, and Amy moved backwards faster, back into Sheldon's room.

Sheldon caught up with Amy, and wrapped his arms around her, causing the two of them to collapse on the bed, kissing intensely.

"Did you lock the door?" Amy whispered.

"Yes. I always do at night." Sheldon nodded, leaning over to retrieve a condom from the drawer.

Amy sat up and unbuttoned Sheldon's pants, brushing his semi-erection with her hand.

Her touch sent a shiver through his entire body, as she moved on to his zipper.

Pulling his pants down, Amy ran her hand over his entire area, massaging his balls as she did so.

Sheldon was still kissing her, his breathing heavy and running his hands up her body to her breasts, all with an urgency to move faster.

Amy teased him a little more, before eventually sitting back to allow him to pull on the condom.

Sheldon all but leapt on Amy once he was done, fumbling for the back of her negligee so he could remove it.

Pulling the lacy black garment off over Amy's head, Sheldon was now shyly glancing down at her naked body.

He rolled them both over so that Amy was on top, and ran the tip of his tongue over her nipple, before sucking on the breast itself.

Amy moaned as she rocked back and forth, increasing her speed and sitting down harder on his lap.

Sheldon bucked his hips up and thrust himself deeper, trying to hold back, but failing.

Still licking Amy's nipple, he felt himself ejaculate and slowed down.

Panting, he spoke: "I'm sorry, I couldn't go any longer."

"Oh yes you can." Amy breathed, grinding down harder on his penis and rocking faster still.

"No, I can't…" Sheldon trailed off, as he felt another surge of pleasure run through him. "Okay, maybe I can."

Amy shushed him and kissed him deeply, before positioning her breast near Sheldon's mouth again.

He took it, and flicked his tongue over it, causing Amy to moan loudly as she reached orgasm.

Sheldon moaned along with her, and they both released at the same time.

Feeling just how much Amy had released, Sheldon instinctively felt panicked about the bedsheets, but managed to calm himself.

Amy dismounted and panted for breath as she collapsed beside Sheldon on the bed.

Swallowing, Sheldon finally spoke. "I never say this, but oh my God."

Amy laughed, unable to speak.

"That was amazing." Sheldon sighed. "I thought men could only go once."

Amy shrugged. "So did I, but I tried it out, and turns out you can go twice if you really try!"

"Evidently. If you don't mind, I'd like to change the sheets now." Sheldon said, feeling embarrassed.

Amy noticed his discomfort in saying this, and kissed him reassuringly. "It's okay; I'm not offended."

Sheldon gave a small smile and got to his feet, and looked shocked as he glanced down.

"Wow…That's a lot of…Stuff in the condom!"

Amy peered over. "Wow! Not bad." She nodded.

Sheldon felt embarrassed, so covered himself with his robe and went to the bathroom to clean up.

Amy pulled her clothes back on and tidied up her hair and make-up, before proceeding to strip the bedding and place it in the laundry basket.

When Sheldon returned from the bathroom, he found Amy putting on fresh bedsheets.

"Thank you, I would have done that though." He said, feeling guilty.

"It's okay…If we are going to live together in the future, I may as well help out now so I can get used to it." Amy replied, cheerfully.

Sheldon nodded, thoughtfully as he hurried to aid his fiancée with changing the duvet cover.

He took a breath and looked up. "Move in with me."

Amy stopped what she was doing and blinked. "What?"

Sheldon swallowed hard. "Move in with me…Please, I mean."

"Sheldon, don't you need to discuss this with Leonard? It's part of the Roommate Agreement." Amy frowned. "And I thought you didn't want me to?"

"Don't you want to live with me?" Sheldon asked, feeling a little downcast.

"Of course I do, but you told me before that _you_ didn't, and it's only fair that you ask Leonard first."

"Oh…Well Amy, the paradigm of our relationship has changed, and we are getting married. I feel ready to live with you now. And yes, you have a point. I'll go ask him." Sheldon got to his feet.

"No, wait! Sheldon, ask him tomorrow. He's with Penny now having some private time…Like we are." Amy stopped him.

"Noted. I'll discuss it tomorrow." He agreed.

"Another thing…What about the Roommate Agreement?" Amy asked. "Are you going to amend it or get rid of it?"

Sheldon's eyes widened. "Why would I get rid of it?"

"You tore up the Relationship Agreement…"

"Yes, but that's different."

"How?"

"Well…It's…Uh…"

Amy smiled. "You don't have a reason, do you?"

"Yes I do…Schedules!" Sheldon replied, triumphantly.

Amy sighed. "How about if we keep some of the schedules, but get rid of the other rules?"

Sheldon frowned, considering Amy's proposal. "How many of the schedules should we keep?"

"I say 20%"

"I vote 80."

"40."

"60."

"Let's make it even at 50."

"Done." Sheldon agreed. "I shall enjoy living with you, Amy Farrah Fowler."

"Is it because we have similar personalities, because you love me, or because we'll be having frequent intercourse?" Amy asked.

"All of it!"


	35. Chapter 35

The next morning, everyone had gone to work, and Sheldon sat nervously in his office, scribbling down ideas on how he should ask Leonard about Amy moving in with them.

As he was writing, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" He called out.

The door opened, and his thee friends entered.

"Hey Sheldon, guess what? They have a new glow in the dark cat in the animal testing lab! Wanna come and see it?" Wolowitz asked, excitedly.

Sheldon frowned. "How does that differ from the glow in the dark bunny?"

"Well…This one is a cat." Raj spoke up. "And the bunny is asleep right now, so…"

"Maybe later, I need to speak with Leonard." Sheldon replied.

"Oh God, what did I do now?" Leonard groaned.

"Nothing. I need to ask you something regarding the Roommate Agreement."

"We'll go on ahead, see you in there." Howard said, closing the door.

Leonard looked at Sheldon, expectantly.

"Take a seat." Sheldon gestured at the chairs in front of his desk, and Leonard sat down.

"Leonard, I've been trying to figure out ways to ask you this…How would you feel about scrapping the rules, but keeping 50% of the schedules in the Roommate Agreement?"

Leonard instantly cried out "YES!"

Sheldon frowned at him, and Leonard sat back down again. "Oh God, what's the catch?"

"There's no catch…I just simply feel that we don't really need a Roommate Agreement anymore if, say, one of our girlfriends were living with us and we have already broken one rule in allowing this, and need to break a few more if we are to move forward?" Sheldon replied.

"Sheldon, Penny is _not _moving in with us!"

"I didn't say Penny…"

"Well if not Penny, then who else?"

Sheldon just looked at Leonard, until his eyes grew wide in realisation. "Oh my God, _Amy _is moving in?!" Leonard gasped.

"Well…Only if you allow her to."

"Why wouldn't I? That means my half of the rent will decrease, anda majority of the Roommate Agreement gets scrapped!" Leonard grinned.

Sheldon glared at him.

"Oh, and of course you get to live with your girlfriend!" Leonard finished.

"Fiancée." Sheldon corrected, "So, you don't have a problem with Amy?"

"Of course not!" Leonard promised, "Congratulations!"

Sheldon smiled shyly. "So, shall we go see that cat that you three were on about?"

"Sure." Leonard nodded, as he and Sheldon exited the office and wandered down the hallways.

Approaching the animal testing lab, they saw Raj cuddling the glow in the dark cat, who was purring and headbutting him.

"Hey guys, guess whose girlfriend is moving in with him?" Leonard called out.

"Oh my God! It's about time!" Howard grinned, as Raj said congratulations.

"No, not Penny… Amy!" Leonard corrected. "Amy is moving in with Sheldon and me!"

"Oh my God, that's huge! Well done Sheldon." Raj and Howard said.

"Thank you." Sheldon smiled, "And again, Leonard, she's not my girlfriend, she is my fiancée. If you're going to be my Best Man, you need to learn these things."

Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Do I recognise that cat?" Sheldon asked.

"I dunno, all tabby cats look the same don't they?" Howard shrugged.

"Not this one, he looks kind of…Zazzy…Oh no, it's Zazzles!"

"How can you be sure?" Leonard frowned.

"Observe." Sheldon picked up the cat and put him on his back feet, re-enacting the 'Zazzy' dance.

Leonard, Howard and Raj cocked their heads, thoughtfully.

"Oh my God, you're right." Sheldon began to panic. "What are we going to do?! They're testing on Zazzles!"

"Didn't you sell Zazzles?" Leonard asked.

"Yes, to a little girl and her father."

"What a great father he is!" Leonard said sarcastically.

"We have to get Zazzles out of here." Sheldon whispered.

"How do you propose we do that?" Raj asked.

"Put him under your sweater and smuggle him out. We can just pretend you're pregnant." Howard quipped.

"That's a biological impossibility. We need to call one of our women and ask them to do it." Sheldon replied.

"Bernie's at work." Howard shrugged.

"So is Amy." Sheldon said.

They both looked wordlessly at Leonard, who did a double-take and rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Fine, I'll call Penny."

..

Almost half an hour later, Penny arrived at the university, where Leonard met her outside and led her to the testing lab.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" She asked.

"We need you to stuff this Zazzles up your sweater and smuggle him out." Sheldon replied, without skipping a beat.

Penny gave him a look. "Excuse me!?"

"We need you to pretend that you're pregnant so we can rescue him."

Penny gave a look of disbelief. "What? No! I'm not going to that!"

"Please? I sold this poor cat under the impression that he was going to be loved and cared for, but instead he's having jellyfish cells injected into him in the name of science." Sheldon begged.

"I thought you were all for science experiments? Since when did you become such an animal lover?" Penny questioned.

"This is Zazzles, a beloved old pet of mine…Please Penny!"

"You only had him for 72 hours!" Leonard muttered.

Penny sighed. "Fine, but I'll put him in my purse." She gestured to the huge bag she was carrying.

"I didn't think of that." Sheldon muttered, picking up the tabby cat and placing him into Penny's purse.

"We will get in so much trouble if anyone finds out!" Raj fretted.

"Don't worry; I froze all the security cameras." Howard confessed. "Easy job, took about five minutes tops."

"Aww, he's cute, aren't you Zazzles?" Penny cooed. "Let's get you home."

The four friends accompanied Penny to the doors and saw her out again, with Sheldon insisting that he leave work early to come with her.

Penny agreed, and they set off for home, with Sheldon holding Zazzles all the way.

..

Amy saved her work as her Skype tone emitted from the computer.

She answered the call.

"Hello Sheldon, is everything alright?"

"Hello Amy. Everything is fine…Why are you at your desk today?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm typing up some notes I wrote from the last study we did." Amy explained.

"Well listen, I have a surprise for you…You can move in with me; Leonard approved it!" Sheldon smiled.

"Oh my God, that's great! Thank you!"

"I also have another surprise for you…If you'd like to stay over tonight, I'll show you."

"Ooh, sounds kinky."

"No, nothing like that!" Sheldon shook his head. "Something else; I'll see you later?"

"I finish work in half an hour, so let's make it two hours from now." Amy replied.

"Alright, I'll see you then. Love you."

"Love you too,"

Amy signed off and frowned.

What surprise could he possibly have for her?

..

"…You stole a cat from the university!?"

"_Rescued!_"

"Sheldon…Why?" Amy asked, as Zazzles jumped onto her lap and began to purr.

She was now at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment, and Sheldon had shown her his 'surprise'.

"They were injecting jellyfish cells into him, and various other experiments. Don't you see? It's Zazzles!"

Amy held Zazzles at arm's length to examine him.

"Oh my God, it is!" She gasped, cuddling him closer. "You poor thing."

The cat purred even louder, closing his eyes as Amy stroked his head.

"I'm going to keep him here so that he's safe and loved, aren't I, Zazzles?." Sheldon said in his baby-voice.

"So…Not only am I moving in with you, but we're going to have a cat, too?" Amy asked.

"Yes."

"Sheldon! That's almost like having our own child…In a way."

Sheldon frowned. "Whoa! It's still too early to think about that!"

"But think about it…We're a couple who are about to be married, and who have a cat. We're practically a family!" Amy impulsively got up and threw her arms around Sheldon, causing Zazzles to jump on to the arm of the couch.

Sheldon was knocked backwards, but managed to keep his balance, as he returned the hug.

"Well, if this goes well, we could consider having a baby…" He said, at last. "But not for at least a year! I need some more time to copulate with you."

Amy blinked at him. "Can we just say 'have sex'?"

"_You_ can." He replied.

"Sheldon, this is great! We're almost like a proper couple now!" Amy grinned.

"We _are _a proper couple…" Sheldon frowned.

"You know what I mean. I have to go and tell Penny and Bernadette…They're at Penny's. Be back soon!" Amy kissed Sheldon, and bounded excitedly out of the apartment.

Sheldon sat in his spot, dazed, and Zazzles sat on the spot next to him, looking up at him.

Sheldon looked back down at the cat.

"Women!" He snorted, "They really do be crazy."

Zazzles just meowed in reply.


	36. Chapter 36

A month passed, and Amy had found a new buyer for her apartment.

All of her friends and Sheldon helped her move her things into 4A, and she had settled down happily into life with Sheldon, Leonard and the new barely-there Roommate Agreement.

They had kept Zazzles and had equipped him with food, toys, a bed and even a collar with a fish-shaped tag bearing his name and address.

It was now a Saturday, and Amy was emerging from hers and Sheldon's bedroom in her robe, wearily rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning." Sheldon greeted, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you. Are you having coffee too?" She asked, sipping from the yellow mug.

Sheldon shook his head. "No, I have tea."

Amy frowned and took the mug off him and took a suspicious sniff. "That's coffee."

"Alright, you caught me. Penny introduced me to it a few years ago; don't tell anyone I drink it!" Sheldon pleaded.

Leonard scurried past, obviously heading out somewhere. "Sheldon, I know you drink coffee." He sighed, exiting through the door.

"Where's he off to?" Amy asked.

Sheldon shrugged. "That's not my concern." He put his drink down and leaned on the kitchen island, smiling at Amy.

"What?" She asked.

"Just thinking about last night." Sheldon admitted.

Amy grinned. "It was pretty amazing, wasn't it?"

"Where did you even learn to do that?" Sheldon frowned.

"My guilty secret is this: I used to do gymnastics as a child. Nobody else knows." Amy winked. She glanced at the clock. "We need to meet the caterers at three." She said.

"Hmm…What to do until then?" Sheldon pondered. He cast a flirtatious glance at Amy, who immediately took the hint.

She was about to reply when Zazzles came out from his bed by the window and meowed loudly.

"I'll just feed the cat, and then I'll see what I can do for you Dr Cooper!" Amy winked.

She gave Zazzles a pouch of food, and he immediately wolfed it down, before retreating to his bed again.

"Must be fun to be a cat." Amy scoffed.

"I see no fun in spending an entire day in bed." Sheldon made a face.

Amy raised her eyebrows in mock seriousness. "Well, then I suppose you don't want to do anything. Shame…I had something planned, but oh well…"

She began to make her way back into the bedroom, and Sheldon all but ran after her.

"No, wait! I meant sleeping!" He protested. "Intercourse is always fun."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." She smiled, grabbing him and pulling him into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

..

"This is very fancy for a caterer's!" Sheldon exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot just before three O'clock.

"Well they are the best in the area!" Amy replied, taking her key out of the ignition and stepping out of the car.

She locked the car and walked into the reception with Sheldon.

"Hello, we're here to see Andrew Meyer." Amy inquired at the desk.

"Amy?" The man blinked.

"Andrew! Oh my God, it's _you!_" Amy squealed, throwing her arms around the man who had now reached their side of the desk.

Sheldon frowned, feeling jealousy swirling in the pit of his stomach.

Clearing his throat, he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Sheldon, this is my friend Andrew from school!" Amy introduced. "Andrew, this is my fiancé Sheldon. He's a highly regarded Theoretical Physicist at Caltech University."

"Ahh, I always knew you'd find a fellow scientist!" Andrew smiled, extending his hand.

Sheldon shook it politely.

"Come this way." Andrew led them through a hallway and into a large industrial kitchen.

"I thought you didn't have friends in school?" Sheldon whispered to Amy.

"I didn't…Except for Andrew. He was the only person who stuck up for me in junior and senior years."

"Hmm." Sheldon muttered.

"This is the kitchen, where all of the food is prepared and made. We can make anything. Our chefs are all qualified, as you can see." Andrew said, pointing to laminated certificates lining the kitchen walls.

Sheldon couldn't say a bad word about the kitchen, as much as he wanted to.

It was absolutely spotless and pristine, with timers going off everywhere, and the chefs using the correct procedures to check that everything was cooked.

"They're cooking for a birthday party tonight; another spoilt kid's Sweet Sixteen." Andrew muttered. "And we have another wedding to cater for tomorrow, but the bride is nowhere near as pretty as you! Look at you; you're positively glowing, and you look so different!"

Sheldon shook his head slightly, glaring at Andrew.

Amy blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl.

_This was preposterous!_

Andrew led the couple through to a dining room, where men and women in formal attire were setting places at a table.

"Did I mention that the Sweet 16 was taking place here?" Andrew mumbled. "A whole horde of drunk, silly teenagers making a mess and causing havoc in my lovely dinner venue!" He almost cried.

"You let them drink!?" Sheldon spoke up, finally.

"Oh heavens no; they have smuggled it in in the past!" Andrew shook his head. He whistled, which made Sheldon cringe, and called the waiting staff over.

"These lovely people are my waiting staff." Andrew introduced.

"Hey! Doctor Cooper, good to see you again!"

Sheldon blinked. "Dennis Kim!? What are you doing working here? I thought you worked in that restaurant?"

"I do; I work two jobs to pay my way." Dennis nodded. "I'll be waiting tables at your wedding on 7th June!" He grinned.

"Excellent. Also, if you hear any news regarding your mother's whereabouts or antics, please do inform me. I'll friend you on Facebook." Sheldon replied.

"Will do, Doctor Cooper." Dennis nodded, before nodding a farewell, and getting back to work.

The next thing on Sheldon and Amy's tour was to pick the food they wanted at their wedding, and to take away their choices and ask the guests what they would like before letting the company know.

As they reached the end of the tour, Andrew took Amy's hands and smiled at her.

Sheldon felt anger bubbling up inside of him, and had the biggest urge to tell this moron to unhand his future wife.

He clenched his fists and jaw, biting his tongue.

"It's been great to see you babe, I'll see you soon." He kissed Amy on the cheek, and then moved along to bid goodbye to Sheldon.

"Until your wedding, this is goodbye!" Andrew smiled, politely, holding his hand out again.

Sheldon shook it with a very firm grip, and Andrew just gave him an odd look; somewhere between a steady look and almost sizing Sheldon up.

Sheldon immediately saw this as a threat and dropped Andrew's hand.

"Thank you Andrew, see you soon." Amy smiled as she and Sheldon made their way back to the car.

On the drive back, Sheldon was silent as Amy rambled on about the food.

"He's not catering for us." Sheldon eventually blurted out.

Amy looked at him, shocked. "What? Why? Andrew is my friend."

"Oh please! Did you see the way he flirted with you? It made me sick to my stomach. What 'friend' would flirt shamelessly with his female friend who is about to get married?" Sheldon snorted.

"Sheldon, he wasn't…"

"'_Babe'. _He called you babe! And commented on your looks right in front of your husband to be! He obviously has a crush on you."

Amy laughed.

Sheldon gave her an annoyed look. "What is funny about this?"

"Sheldon, it's not _me _he has a crush on!" Amy chuckled.

"I saw it clear as day, Amy!"

Amy bit her lip, nodding. "Well then, that's very weird, because he's gay."

Sheldon stared at Amy, wide eyed, unable to talk for a few moments. "What?"

"Andrew is gay…As much as I hate to say this, that's what made him an outcast at school. That and he was a new student in junior year. People at our school were brutal. So we befriended each other for the final two years, and looked out for each other." Amy replied.

"But…He…The looks he gave you, and the compliments, and he whispered in your ear at one point!" Sheldon protested.

"He did, you're right…He told me I'm a lucky woman because you're cute, dashing and have a very lean, sexy figure."

Sheldon felt embarrassed. "Well…while that is true, I don't feel comfortable with that sort of compliment coming from another man!"

Amy snorted with laughter. "Oh my God, you thought he liked _me! _He clearly likes you! I'm the one who should be jealous!" Amy continued laughing.

Sheldon closed his eyes, feeling mortified.

"If you could just drop me off here, I'll go crawl under a bus now." He said.

"Don't be silly. While it's nice to have someone feel jealous over the thought of another man showing interest in me, I feel a little like you owe both Andrew and I an apology."

"I will next time I see him."

"What about me?"

Sheldon sighed. He hated apologies.

"I'm sorry that Andrew seemed to be flir…"

"Nope, try again."

"That your make up looked a little slutty today?"

Amy shot a look at Sheldon, and he sank a little lower into his seat.

"Okay, you have one more shot before I do actually leave you in the road." She said.

"Fine…I'm sorry." Sheldon said in a small voice.

"Thank you. But you owe me still."

Sheldon blinked and frowned at Amy. "But I apologised."

"Yep, and now I would like you to do something for me so that I can fully forgive you." Amy replied.

"What's that?" Sheldon asked, silently dreading her reply.

"I propose another round of bath sex. It's been some time." Amy said.

Sheldon immediately got excited, but decided to play it cool and act nonchalant.

"Well, I'll have to move a few things around, but I'm sure I can do that."

Amy just smiled. "Damn right you can!"


	37. Chapter 37

It was a couple of days later that Amy woke up in the morning feeling nauseous.

She took a sip out of the bottle of almost-flat Diet Coke next to the bed, and waited.

As the feeling disappeared again, Amy frowned.

As she lay back down again, Sheldon felt her stir and woke up.

"You're awake early." He murmured.

"Sorry, I felt nauseous." Amy replied.

Sheldon looked mildly horrified. "Um…Are you ill?"

"I don't know. Would you feel better if I relocated to the couch to avoid passing it on to you?" She asked.

Sheldon opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again and swallowed. "No. Stay here. If you are ill, you need comfort."

He hauled himself out of bed.

He was only ten minutes ahead of his alarm, so he switched it off and put on his slippers.

Padding into the kitchen, he pulled out Amy's address book from a drawer.

Flipping through the pages, he found the number he needed and picked up the phone, dialling the number.

"Hello, is this the UCLA main office? I'm Dr Sheldon Cooper, Amy Farrah Fowler's fiancé. Please could you inform her boss that she will not be at work today because she has fallen ill... Yes, I will let you know if she's still unwell tomorrow. Thank you. Goodbye." He put the phone down and made Amy some orange juice and selected the best apple in the fruit bowl, and a granola bar, and took them in to Amy.

"Here." He smiled. "I called your workplace and let them know that you wouldn't be attending today."

Amy sat up a little. "Thank you Sheldon." She kissed him. "You didn't need to. I only felt a little nauseous; it's gone now, I can go to work..."

"You never know if it might return over the course of the day." Sheldon replied.

He had a point.

"Thank you Sheldon. This was very thoughtful" Amy smiled.

Leonard walked past and peeked through the door. "Sheldon? Bathroom is free now…What's wrong with Amy?"

"Nothing, I just felt a little nauseous. I'm okay now, but Sheldon is insisting I stay at home to be on the safe side. He made me some orange juice, and brought me some breakfast." Amy spoke up.

"Poor you, hope you feel better soon Amy." Leonard replied.

"So do I," Sheldon said, "But I gave her a healthy breakfast; you know what they say. An apple a day keeps the doctor away." He smiled.

"Yeah, it'll keep _this _germophobic doctor away." Leonard quipped, gesturing to Sheldon, who gave him a withering look.

"Nonsense! Amy is my girlfriend. I will look after her as best I can." Sheldon replied.

"Oh no, I'll be fine. You go to work…" Amy said.

"But I need to take care of you."

"No you don't. I'll be fine, I promise. Get ready for work. Please? I promise I'll be fine on my own."

Sheldon looked from Amy to Leonard, who shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Sheldon asked, not wanting to leave.

"Positive. I love you." She kissed Sheldon, and snuggled back down into bed again.

"I love you too." Sheldon replied quietly, hurrying to get ready for work.

When he finally called out his goodbye, Amy sighed.

The cramps in her stomach were worrying her.

She no longer felt sick, but something wasn't right.

She whipped her phone off the bedside table and began to text.

_Penny isn't working today. _Amy thought as she tapped out her message.

'_Penny, when you get this message, please text or call me, or come over. I really need to talk to you. Sorry if I woke you up. Amy xx'_

She returned her phone to the bedside table and got up to get ready.

..

An hour later, there was a knock at the door.

Amy, who was sat in the front room eating her granola bar, got to her feet and answered it.

"Hi Ames, what's up?" Penny looked worried.

"Come on in." Amy invited, and the two women sat on the couch.

"So…?" Penny pushed.

Amy sighed. "I didn't want to tell Sheldon, but I've been feeling weird the last week or so…"

Penny frowned, "when you say 'weird', do you mean…?"

"I don't know." Amy shook her head. "I felt nauseous today, but it's gone now. Sheldon called my work and told me to take the day off."

"That was sweet of him." Penny smiled.

"Yeah, I know…But it's not only that. I've been getting cramps in my stomach, I've been off my food, and have been tired and moody, but the worst part…I'm late." Amy covered her eyes with her hands.

Penny's eyes flew wide, and her mouth dropped open.

"You're kidding!"

"No." Amy shook her head.

"Oh God…Amy you need to take a test, sweetie!" Penny put a comforting hand on her friend's arm.

"I'm scared. What if I am? I can't tell Sheldon, he'll freak out…Dump me even! He'll call off the wedding…I'm not even ready yet! I want to have kids one day, but not now!" Amy wept, feeling herself getting hysterical.

Penny got to her feet and grabbed a spare paper bag that Sheldon and Leonard always kept in the kitchen and gave it to Amy.

"Breathe into this." Penny instructed.

Amy did as she was told, as Penny rubbed her back.

"Do you want me to come get a test with you?" Penny asked, once Amy had regulated her breathing.

"Please. That would be great." Amy nodded, tearfully.

"What are best friends for?" Penny smiled. "Come on young lady, let's get you cleaned up."

Penny grabbed some tissue and make up from Amy's purse and made her look good as new again.

She ran back to her apartment to grab her purse and keys before meeting Amy in the hallway and descending the stairs.

The two friends walked into the pharmacy up the road, and Amy insisted on buying ten pregnancy tests, and two gallons of orange juice from the store next door.

As they returned to the apartment, Amy took the cap off one of the bottles and took a long drink, before placing both bottles in the fridge.

It took all day, but Amy finally managed to take all of the pregnancy tests.

She hadn't looked at a single one yet.

As she placed the last one on the tissue papers next to the others, she took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Penny asked.

"No." Amy shook her head.

"Come on, I'm here…If the worst comes to the worst, we can always…You know…Get you a termination." Penny said gently. "Sheldon need never know."

"So you won't tell him?"

"Of course not."

"Or Leonard or Bernadette, or anyone else?"

"I promise." Penny replied sincerely.

Amy nodded and at that moment, Zazzles jumped up onto the stool next to them.

"Let me just feed the cat." Amy said quickly glad to find an excuse to get out of it for a second.

As she emptied the packet of cat meat into Zazzles' bowl and placed it on the floor, she sighed.

Zazzles hungrily tucked into his food as Amy nervously stood next to Penny again.

"Together, okay?" Penny said gently.

Amy nodded.

"One, two, three."

They turned over the tests, and Amy stared at them all.

"That's a good thing." Penny said, putting her hands on Amy's shoulders, and feeling her friend relax.

"Thank God." Amy sighed with relief.

All of them were negative.

..

The two friends were interrupted by the door opening, and Sheldon walking in.

"Hello Amy, how are you feeling?" He said, closing the door.

Penny and Amy stood with their backs facing the kitchen counter, shielding the tests from Sheldon's view.

"_Much _better!" Amy smiled.

Sheldon smiled back. "Glad to hear it. I left early to come and take care of you, but looks like I don't need to now."

"How did you get back? Where's Leonard?" Amy asked.

"I took the bus. I took a paper bag to sit on, so it wasn't so bad." Sheldon replied, setting his satchel down.

Amy nodded, and Zazzles ran up to Sheldon, jumping onto the furniture.

"Hello Zazzles! Have you missed me?" Sheldon stroked the tabby cat, and sat down. "Oh! I almost forgot…"

Sheldon got up again and rummaged through his satchel, bringing out a Lunar bar, and walking over to Amy.

Amy instantly panicked. She felt Penny link her arm for comfort and protection.

"I got you this from the vending machine." Sheldon smiled, giving the chocolate bar to Amy.

Amy swallowed. "Thank you Sheldon." She said quietly.

He smiled at her, and then as his eyes moved on to the kitchen counter, he froze.

Penny held Amy's arm tighter.

"Penny…Are…_those _yours?" He asked quietly.

Amy started to tremble.

"Yeah, they're mine." Penny nodded, sensing her friend's panic.

Sheldon narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why didn't you do them at home?"

"I needed a friend for comfort." Penny replied.

Sheldon looked at Amy, who wouldn't meet his eye.

"Penny, I know you're trying to defend Amy…It makes more sense that these test sticks are hers." He said, quietly. "I've become used to Amy's menstrual cycle, and if her recent dietary and mood patterns are anything to go by, she's late this month."

"Okay, first off, don't give her a hard time. She was terrified about you finding out…" Penny warned.

"I'm not angry." Sheldon replied, "More curious."

Amy swallowed. "I'm not pregnant, Sheldon." She moved aside so he could look at the results. "Look; one line means negative. There's only one line on every single one." Amy consulted one of the boxes.

Sheldon nodded and frowned. "So there is."

"I'll leave you two alone…Come over if you need to Amy." Penny smiled, hugging her friend.

"Thank you Penny." Amy whispered.

Penny nodded. "No worries." She glared at Sheldon before exiting.

Sheldon looked at Amy blankly.

"Like I said, they're negative. But at least now we can rule pregnancy out as what's been making me feel so crappy lately." Amy shrugged, as she picked up the tests in the tissue and put them in the trash, before disinfecting the counter. "I'm relieved to be honest."

"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, I wasn't ready…I'd like children someday, but not right now. You didn't want them either, so it's no big deal really. They're all negative, so you don't need to worry." Amy smiled and kissed Sheldon.

"I'm going for a bath." She said, slipping into the bathroom and closing the door.

Sheldon just stared at the trash can, where Amy had discarded the negative test sticks, and felt his heart sink.

He bit his lip.

What Amy had just said whirled around his head; _"You didn't want them either…I'm relieved to be honest…It's no big deal really. They're all negative, so you don't need to worry."_

"Then why don't I feel relieved?" He whispered to himself.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Wow! Thank you for all the reviews! This chapter will be a bit angsty I guess, so here's your warning lol. A bit of confused, sad Sheldon.**

**..**

Sheldon hadn't been able to sleep much that night.

He didn't know what it was, but he felt bitterly disappointed and confused.

He finally fell asleep, and didn't even stir as Amy awoke early.

Sheldon could hear her talking in the living room around 8 O'clock, and when she returned to the bedroom, Sheldon opened his eyes and noticed that Amy was fully dressed.

"I called Cal Tech for you you've got the day off now. I figured you might've caught whatever I had." She smiled.

"Where are you going?" Sheldon murmured.

"I made an appointment at the doctors to see why I've felt weird lately." Amy replied. "I'll be back to take care of you though."

"That won't be necessary. I'm just tired. If you want to return to work today, please go ahead. I felt bad about leaving you alone yesterday, so this can be payback to me." Sheldon smiled.

Amy chuckled. "Payback? Don't be silly." She leaned down to kiss him. "I'll be back in about an hour, whether you like it or not." She winked, picking up her purse and making her way through the apartment.

Upon hearing the door close, Sheldon sighed.

"Pull yourself together Cooper." He muttered.

"Sheldon!"

Leonard was calling for him.

"In here." Sheldon replied, having no desire to get out of bed.

"Oh no, are you sick too?" Leonard groaned.

"Something like that."

Leonard frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Sheldon, come on. You know I'll pull it out of you eventually."

_Darn it, he's right. _Sheldon thought.

He turned over and sat up, taking a deep breath. "Amy's not pregnant."

Leonard frowned, blinking. "Isn't that a good thing right now?"

Sheldon said nothing.

"You wanted her to be?" Leonard asked.

"Well no, that's what's so strange about it. I didn't want a child to begin with, and she did one day. But now it appears the tables have turned." Sheldon confessed.

Leonard's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, what?"

When his roommate didn't reply Leonard spoke again; "You _want _a baby with Amy?"

"I think so."

"Wow…"

"I knew she was ill but I never thought that pregnancy could be a possible factor, until I saw ten negative tests on the kitchen counter." Sheldon recalled.

"Wait…_On _the kitchen counter!?" Leonard cried.

"Amy disinfected it. I saw her…" Sheldon replied, and upon seeing Leonard relax, he continued. "Anyway…She seemed really relieved that they were negative. Happy even. And I felt…Not."

Sheldon threw his hand up slightly not knowing what else to say.

"What would you have done if they were positive?" Leonard asked.

"You need to re-phrase that question; there are lots of things I would have _done._" Sheldon said.

"Okay…Uh what would your reaction have been? Would it have been different?" Leonard tried.

Sheldon looked skywards, thoughtfully.

"I don't know." He admitted.

"Okay…Try this. Close your eyes." Leonard said, taking a seat on the end of the bed.

Sheldon shut his eyes. "Don't punch me."

"I'm not going to punch you." Leonard frowned, "Just follow what I say; picture you and Amy on a normal day. You're sitting alone together in your bedroom, and she turns to you…"

"Yes…"

"And says this: 'Sheldon, I'm pregnant.' What do you say?"

When Sheldon didn't reply, Leonard frowned again. "Sheldon?"

"Sorry, imagination-me passed out." Sheldon replied.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Okay…Fainting aside, what is imagination-Sheldon's reaction?"

"Shock, from what I can tell."

"Good, anything else?"

Eyes still closed, Sheldon frowned slightly. "Not that I can easily read. But real life-me can feel what normal people would call 'butterflies' in my stomach…Although that could be hunger."

"Right…So apart from passing out, has imagination-Sheldon freaked out, run away, yelled at Amy…?" Leonard asked.

"Well, no. I'm still sitting there."

"Give it a sec."

Sheldon waited a few seconds, and his eyebrows raised a little. "No, still there. Imagination-Sheldon is kissing imagination-Amy now."

"Then maybe that's your answer." Leonard replied.

Sheldon's eyes flew open. "What are you implying?!"

"I think you're not as scared of commitment as you say you are." Leonard grinned.

"Well, I'd have thought you would know that by now. I am marrying Amy, you know I love her." Sheldon snapped.

"Okay…I don't think you're as afraid of being a _parent_ as you say you are, then. I think your only worry is the comfort zone issues, and possibly the germs." Leonard shrugged, picking up his own satchel off the chair.

"Oh…I didn't even think of the germs." Sheldon admitted, before realising what he had said, and threw a hand to his mouth.

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "Well then, there you go. I'll see you after work buddy. See you later." And with that, he was scurrying through the apartment and out through the door.

..

Amy came back almost an hour later, to find Sheldon in the kitchen, making some breakfast.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Well, we got to the bottom of it." Amy smiled. "It was stress from juggling the wedding planning, work, and all that crazy Joyce Kim crap. Now that I think about it, that does make sense. But there's nothing wrong with me physically. The doctor said I need to take it easy and maybe take the week off, and make some time for myself once a day."

"Oh good. Well at least it's nothing serious." Sheldon replied, kissing Amy on the lips.

"How about you? Are you feeling better?" Amy asked.

"Yes thank you. I was just tired; I didn't sleep well last night." Sheldon replied, dishing up some bacon and eggs.

"You're telling me!" Amy chuckled, "I could feel you tossing and turning for a good three hours."

"I'm sorry if I woke you." Sheldon said.

"No, I still felt rested." Amy smiled. "I feel much better now."

"Here you are." Sheldon smiled, handing her a plate of bacon and eggs, and taking his own over to his spot.

"Thank you…I thought you avoided greasy breakfasts?" Amy asked. "And eating breakfast late will, you know, mess up your bowels…"

"I thought we could both benefit from a treat." Sheldon shrugged.

Amy laughed. "I benefit from lots of your treats."

It took Sheldon a few seconds to figure out what Amy meant, and he gave his usual breathy laugh.

They ate in silence for a while, until Sheldon spoke up. "You know, I could 'treat' you again…With that bath set I bought."

"Okay, but give it an hour so our breakfast can go down." Amy nodded.

"Of course…And you know what the best thing about having coitus in the bath is?" Sheldon asked.

"What's that?"

"Not having to wear a condom. Doesn't it feel so much better?"

Amy frowned at him. "I am never going without protection again." She laughed. "Not after our scare yesterday."

Sheldon's face fell.

"Oh…Well um, condoms are near enough useless in water anyway." He pointed out.

"I know. I'm taking the contraceptive pill." Amy replied. "I asked the doctor to prescribe it to me today."

"Oh. Well, we can still do it, can't we?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course." Amy smiled, getting up to wash her empty plate.

Sheldon felt the sudden urge to kick himself.

_What are you doing, Cooper? _He thought, _it's almost like you're trying to trick Amy into getting pregnant! What is wrong with you!?_

The more he thought about it, the more confused and disgusted in himself he felt.

"I'm going for an after-dinner walk." He announced quickly, standing up.

"Since when do you take after-dinner walks?" Amy frowned.

"Well, I read something online…And long story short exercise is good. I'll be back in an hour. Love you." He kissed her and threw on his jacket, and hurrying out of the door.

Amy blinked, feeling confused.

..

The other side of the door, Sheldon ran down the stairs.

He had to get out of there.

What on earth was he thinking?!

On the way down, he collided with Penny.

"Oof! Hey, what's the hurry Moonpie?" She asked, steadying herself.

"Sorry." Sheldon muttered.

"Hold on, wait a minute! What are you doing?" Penny demanded, grabbing Sheldon by the arm. "You better not have upset Amy."

"No, I…I'm just confused."

"Oh God, you're not going to leave her are you?"

"No! Never…I just had to get out of there."

Penny frowned, shaking her head. "Why?"

Sheldon was about to reply, when one of the 3rd floor residents walked past, so Sheldon and Penny moved aside to let them through.

Once they were out of earshot, Sheldon sighed. "I was upset last night and haven't felt the same since."

"What upset you Sheldon? Amy's not pregnant. She text me earlier and said the doctor told her it was stress. She's fine…No baby, Sheldon, okay? Relax."

"How can I relax when _that's _the thing that is upsetting me?" He blurted out, unable to stop himself.

Penny was stunned into silence, and just stared as Sheldon reddened and mumbled something about having to go, and running down the last few steps and through the front door of the building.

Snapping back to her senses, Penny ran after him, and finally caught up with him up the street.

"Sheldon. Say that again…" She panted.

"No. It's nothing. Forget I said anything." He replied.

Penny grabbed his arm. "Sheldon…" She looked so concerned for him, that he relented.

"Something is wrong with me, Penny. After everything that Amy and I have been through, I feel like this whole fast-paced relationship is normal, and I don't feel so afraid of commitment anymore." He began.

"I know, and that's good!" Penny smiled.

"No, there's something else…I wasn't relieved when Amy turned out not to be pregnant. I actually felt…I don't know. Disappointed? And then when I spoke about having intercourse with her later, I kept trying to make excuses about not using protection. I don't know what is going on! This isn't like me!" He started to breathe heavily, clearly stressed, and Penny immediately felt sorry for him.

She put an arm around him, and although he tried to shake her off at first, Sheldon eventually gave in and let Penny lead him back to the apartment block.

"Come and sit with me for a while and we can talk." She said soothingly, as they reached the fourth floor and Penny took out her keys. "But I assure you, this is normal."

"How is this normal!?" Sheldon hissed.

"Just trust me," Penny replied, closing her door behind her and Sheldon. "But you and I definitely need a chat about this."

Sheldon just nodded and sat down, feeling exhausted. "Anything to stop me feeling like a hippie." He groaned.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, they really make my day! (And encourage me to write more! ;D) Major smut warning for later in this chapter!**

**..**

Penny wandered over to her kitchen, where she immediately grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine from the fridge.

Sheldon wandered over from his spot on her couch and sat at a bar stool.

Penny poured and handed him a glass of wine.

"This is alcohol." He said, frowning.

"So?"

"So you know I don't drink unless it's on special occasions, or to calm my nerves."

Penny frowned. "You just freaked out and ran halfway down the road. Would that count as nerves?"

Sheldon blinked at her. "Good point. Thank you." He took the glass and took a swig, making a face before swallowing. "Delightful." He said, unconvincingly.

Penny just laughed. "Yeah, this is real wine, not the sweet stuff you usually drink." She took a drink from her own glass. "So, when are you going to tell Amy how you feel?"

"Oh I'm not going to tell her." Sheldon shook his head.

"You're kidding, right? Sheldon, you and Amy are getting married in four months. I think you need to start discussing your feelings about children and what you want from the relationship." Penny replied.

"I don't follow."

Penny sighed. "Okay, look. You've always wanted to father Amy's children, right from when you first met her."

"No I haven't!"

"Yeah, remember you were telling me about how you wanted to 'gift humanity with your progeny' or whatever?"

"Yes, but that was through in-vitro fertilisation, and the child would have been adopted."

"Really? You would trust another human being to care for a high-IQ, genius baby that you and Amy created?" Penny raised her eyebrows.

Sheldon pursed his lips. "I guess not…"

"Looks like Mr Brainiac didn't properly think this through." Penny took a swig of wine.

"Supposing Amy and I did procreate, do you think it would still be a genius like us?" Sheldon asked, polishing off his glass.

"Of course it would! You two are like Pierre and Marie Curie…Without the radiation poisoning." Penny answered.

Sheldon blinked in surprise.

"I'm impressed that you know that!"

"Don't patronize me Sheldon; I'm trying to help you."

"Sorry."

"But they had children, didn't they? Or so Leonard tells me…It's not totally unheard of for geek…I mean, scientists, to have children and be happy." Penny pointed out.

"I know…But that isn't my main concern." Sheldon said.

"Oh of course, it's your germ phobia."

"Actually…That wasn't it either. I didn't even think of that." Sheldon admitted, receiving a look of disbelief from Penny.

"Wow! Okay…Can I ask you one more thing?" She filled up both wine glasses again.

"What?"

"Are you more upset about not being able to produce some genius baby, or a baby in general?"

Sheldon took a drink, and stared at the worktop, stunned into silence for a while.

"The second one."

Penny's eyes widened, the way they would if she was staring at a puppy. "Aww." She said quietly. "Sheldon Cooper wants to be a daddy!"

"Shh!" He hissed, although nobody could hear them. "Please don't tell Amy."

"I won't." Penny shook her head, finishing her mouthful. "But you have to."

"What? No!"

"Sheldon…You need to tell her how upset you were, otherwise things will become awkward for you two, and she won't know why." Penny reasoned.

He sighed. "I suppose you're right. Thank you Penny." He downed the rest of his drink, making himself shudder.

He let himself out of the apartment.

..

"Oh! There you are." Amy said, as she opened the door to 4A. "I was about to come and look for you; why were you at Penny's?"

"I need to talk to you." Sheldon said, abruptly.

Amy's heart sank. "Oh no…You're not…You're not ending things are you?"

"No, of course not." Sheldon replied, sitting in his spot.

Amy sat next to him, and Sheldon turned to her, licking his lips nervously.

"I have a confession…" He began, and upon seeing Amy's horrified expression, he spoke again; "No, not like that! I think I may have been too hasty to brush off the idea of…You know, reproduction."

Amy frowned. "I thought we discussed that a few weeks ago? It is too early to be thinking about it, you were right."

"Please let me finish." Sheldon said, softly. "Yesterday when you felt ill, and I saw all those pregnancy tests on the counter, I got scared…But in a good way. When you told me they were negative and that you were relieved, I started feeling disappointed and I regretted it. I couldn't sleep, and I know my behaviour today was a bit odd…"

"You freaked out and ran off." Amy said, quietly.

"Only because of the thoughts I was having. I was disgusted at myself."

"What thoughts, Sheldon?"

He dropped his gaze to the brown leather of the couch. "You recall I asked you for sex without protection?..."

"Yes…"

"Well, I…I sort of hoped that it might aid in impregnating you." He looked up, and upon seeing the shocked look on Amy's face, he hurriedly spoke again. "But I know that was wrong, and I'm sorry. I was so angry at myself that's why I ran out. This is all confusing; something is wrong with me."

He hung his head.

"There's nothing wrong with you. That's normal." Amy replied, eventually. "How about we make a deal?"

Sheldon looked up at her, nodding.

"If you still feel the same when we get married, we can try on the honeymoon and thereafter." She suggested. "But _only _if you still want to. I won't push you into doing anything you're not comfortable with."

"Deal." Sheldon nodded, as Amy swept him up in a hug. "I never thought for a second that I'd end up wanting a child." He admitted.

"It happens to all of us eventually." Amy reasoned. She leaned forward and kissed her physicist fiancé passionately.

"Have you been drinking?" She asked when they broke apart.

"Wine. Courtesy of Penny…She helped me when I 'freaked out' as you and she put it." Sheldon nodded.

"So…You were planning bath sex?" Amy purred.

"Oh! Yes I was…Have you…Taken your…?"

"Yes, I have. Just before we ate."

Sheldon looked up at the clock. "We have an hour and a half until lunch. I say we make the most of it."

"Agreed." Amy ran to the bathroom and rummaged through the basket, taking out all the bubble bath, bath salts, candles and the shower gel.

She ran the water and lit the candles, and got herself ready.

Sheldon appeared in the doorway, and spotted Amy sitting naked on the edge of the tub, illuminated by candlelight.

He locked the door and pulled off his clothes, lowering himself and Amy into the hot, bubbly water.

He positioned himself at Amy's open legs and eased himself in, kissing her deeply.

Moving his mouth down to suckle on her breast, he began to increase the speed.

Amy bucked her hips up to meet his, feeling his full length inside of her.

There was a point where both of them were almost fully immersed under the water for a few seconds, before coming up for air.

Both of them reached orgasm after about half an hour, after Sheldon had stood up and held up Amy, using the back wall by the shower as support as he thrust harder and faster.

Sheldon felt the wetness as Amy came, and he released shortly after, panting for breath and pulling out, as their juices were left to fall into the tub.

Amy was about to step out of the tub, when Sheldon stopped her.

He kissed her, before descending down to her nipple again, inserting his fingers inside her.

Amy frowned "What are you doing? I've already…"

"Making sure my woman is completely satisfied." Sheldon replied in the husky voice that always turned Amy on even more.

She began to moan, as Sheldon moved his fingers in and out, and to her clitoris.

Upon feeling Amy release again, he stopped and gave her one last, passionate kiss, before retreating to clean up.

"Oh my God." Amy breathed. "I have to say, you're a very quick learner!"

"I excel at all things, you know that." Sheldon smiled, drying his hands.

"You certainly do…" Amy nodded, proceeding to wash herself down.

"This will be my favourite part of baby-making with you." She joked.

"Mine too…We won't have to stop having coitus if we do have a child, will we?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, no, but we can only do it when the child is asleep so it may not be as regular as it is now…" Amy replied.

"But won't that make the times we _do_ have sex even better?" Sheldon questioned.

"Maybe, although they probably couldn't get any better than they already are!" Amy grinned.

"Very true…But first things first, we have four months to finish wedding planning before we can think about that, remember?" Sheldon smiled, pulling his clothes back on.

Amy kissed him on the lips. "And I look forward to it!"


	40. Chapter 40

The months flew by, and finally the wedding planning all took shape.

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow would be the wedding!

Sheldon and Amy had both chosen not to have bachelor and bachelorette parties, purely because they had felt it unnecessary and didn't want to look at another person in that way if their friends hired a stripper.

Sheldon tightened his tie as Amy and Leonard burst through the living room.

"Come on, we'll be late!" Amy panicked.

"Coming." Sheldon replied, taking a deep breath and pulling on his blazer, before pocketing his phone and keys and exiting the door, locking it behind him.

..

Arriving at the venue, Amy felt nervous.

"Okay, does everyone know what they're saying and doing?" She double-checked, turning to face everyone from the top step.

"Yes, we promise." Penny nodded, "relax and enjoy your night. It's only the rehearsal." She smiled and squeezed Amy's arm reassuringly.

"Penny's right, it will be okay." Bernadette smiled kindly.

Amy took a deep breath and relaxed as they trooped into the function room.

..

It was past 11 pm by the time everyone arrived back home.

"See? I told you it would go well!" Penny grinned.

Amy was beaming. "I can't believe I get married tomorrow!" She shook her head, and turned to Sheldon.

"I'm staying at Penny's, remember? My stuff is over here, and it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." She smiled.

"You don't really believe in all that hokum, do you?" Sheldon frowned.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Obviously not, but just to be on the safe side…" She leaned up and kissed him lovingly.

He returned the kiss, and as they broke apart he looked at her sadly.

"I don't like being away from you at night. I've gotten so used to having you with me every night and every day." Sheldon pouted.

"It's just for tonight. Besides, after tomorrow, you won't be able to get rid of me. I'll be your wife!" Amy grinned, impishly.

"Good!" Sheldon replied, giving her a final kiss. "Goodnight Amy Farrah Fowler…for the last time."

"Goodnight Sheldon."

Amy followed the girls into Penny's apartment and flopped on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Bernadette asked.

"Yeah. I just feel like this is one big dream." Amy sighed. "To be honest, I'm terrified that Sheldon will freak out and run or not go through with the wedding."

Penny's eyes widened. "Oh my God Amy, no! He wouldn't do that to you."

"Yeah, he's really changed." Bernie added, "He loves you. Besides, we'd kick his scrawny ass if he did that!"

Amy smiled. "Thank you." She said.

"Come on, we'd better get to sleep. Amy, you're in my bed for tonight. Bernadette and I have got the couch and air mattresses. You're the bride; your sleep is more important." Penny announced, grabbing the extra bedding.

The girls settled themselves into their respective beds, and as their chatter slowly died down and they fell asleep, all Amy could think about was the wedding tomorrow.

..

"Amy! Amy get up!"

Amy's eyes flew open. "What? What's wrong?"

"Our alarm didn't go off!" Bernadette cried.

"WHAT!?"

"We have only two hours to get ready and get there. Hurry!" Penny pulled Amy out of bed and ushered her into the bathroom, where she had the speediest shower of her life.

She let Penny and Bernadette dry and style her hair as she brushed her teeth and applied her makeup.

"What about breakfast? I need to eat…Something quick that isn't messy or greasy." Amy asked.

"Cereal will have to do." Bernadette said, carrying over three bowls of Cocoa Puffs.

The girls ate their cereal, in between trying to apply makeup and style their hair.

"I just heard the guys leave. We can't be too far behind." Penny said, as they slipped into their dresses and shoes.

"Okay, where the hell is my veil?" Amy panicked.

"Isn't it in the bag?" Bernadette asked.

"No…Oh no, I must've left it in the other apartment!" Amy cried.

"I have an emergency key, remember?" Penny replied, racing to her key bowl (insisted upon by Sheldon), and rummaged through it.

"Aha!" She held the key up like a trophy and raced across the hallway to 4A, letting herself in, and returning moments later with Amy's veil.

Amy had asked for the veil to be attached to the tiara that Sheldon had bought for her over two years ago.

Amy was finally ready, and as she spritzed on her perfume, she relaxed.

"You look beautiful." Bernadette smiled.

"You really do." Penny added, tearing up. "Oh! Come here," she swept Amy into a hug; with Bernadette joining from Amy's other side. "Our little Amy is finally growing up." Penny wept.

"Don't let your mascara run onto my dress." Amy laughed, grabbing her bouquet.

The girls grabbed their purses and belongings just as they heard the car honk from outside, down in the street.

Penny locked her door and stuffed the keys into her purse, as they all filed down the stairs and out of the building.

..

"Sheldon?"

Sheldon turned to face Leonard as they pulled up outside the venue. "Yes?"

"How are you feeling?" Leonard asked gently.

"What are you doing? You're giving him the chance to make a break for it!" Howard warned.

"I am not going to do that to Amy." Sheldon replied.

Although, he had to admit, he did feel extremely nervous.

"Got the rings, Raj?" Sheldon asked as the four of them thanked the driver and stepped out of the car.

Raj reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out the ring box, opening it up. "Yep, got them."

Satisfied, Sheldon gave a nod and took a deep breath.

"I also have a pocket flask of alcohol if you need it?" Raj offered.

Sheldon scoffed. "I hardly think so!"

But as he saw the bridal car turn the corner of the long, sweeping driveway, he changed his mind.

"Actually, why not? I'll embrace the chaos!" He took the flask from Raj and took a long swig, shuddering.

"Yucky! What is that!?"

"It's rum, and calm down Sheldon, we know what you're like when you've had a few." Howard joked.

"I didn't have a 'few', I had one swig."

"Of neat rum."

"Well I won't be touching that again, it's disgusting. Come on, I can't see Amy before the wedding, remember?" Sheldon turned around and walked up the steps, into the chapel, where all the guests were waiting.

Upon seeing Sheldon and his groomsmen arrive, everyone settled down quietly.

Leonard stood next to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "This is it, buddy. Good luck." He whispered.

Sheldon turned pale and swallowed hard, barely able to breathe.

He nodded in response.

He caught the eyes of his mother and Mee-maw in the front row, who smiled proudly at him.

Sheldon smiled back nervously, and everyone got to their feet as the organ player began to play the traditional 'here comes the bride'.

Bernadette led the way down the aisle, with Penny shortly behind her, in their gorgeous lilac dresses and curled hair.

Amy was walked down the aisle by her mother, and took deep breaths as she got closer, gripping onto her mom's arm for support, afraid she might pass out on her own.

She looked up ahead of her at her husband-to-be, who looked tall, lean and handsome as always, in his black tuxedo and white shirt. He was staring at her like she was a Goddess.

When Amy reached the end, she gave Penny her flowers, and her mother took the seat next to Mary Cooper, who grinned at her.

Sheldon was truly breathtaken by Amy in her gorgeous white, Grecian wedding dress, her curled hair and perfect makeup.

Of course, he had loved her new makeover a few months back, but this was different.

His nerves faded, as he smiled at Amy.

The minister asked everyone to be seated as he began the ceremony.

"Friends, family and dearly beloved, we are gathered today to witness the marriage of Amy Farrah Fowler and Sheldon Cooper…Before I begin, if there is anyone here who does not agree that these two should be bound by holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your silence."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause.

"Sorry, that's always a hairy moment." The minister muttered.

Sheldon and Amy frowned, but said nothing, as some of the congregation sniggered.

"Who has the rings?" The minister continued.

Raj stepped forward and handed Sheldon and Amy the rings.

"Now, Amy, repeat after me…I, Amy Farrah Fowler…"

"STOP THE WEDDING!"

Everyone turned to face the door of the hotel chapel, and frowned at the unfamiliar face, who had just shouted out, and was now leaning over slightly, catching his breath.

"Oh, good God." Leonard muttered.

"Who are you?" Sheldon demanded. "And what in God's name are you doing?"

The man looked up, embarrassed. "Wait…She's not Rita…You're not Dave."

"If you're looking for the Cohen-Williams wedding, that's the same time _tomorrow!_" The minister called out.

The man frowned, reddening. "Oh…Uh, thanks. Sorry…Carry on." And with that, he ran out of the doors.

Amy and Sheldon couldn't help but stare after him; eyebrows raised, as yet again, the entire room burst out laughing.

"Anyway…I, Amy Farrah Fowler …"

"I, Amy Farrah Fowler…"

"Take thee, Sheldon Lee Cooper..."

"Take thee, Sheldon Lee Cooper..."

"To be my husband. I promise to love you for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

Amy repeated the last line and slipped the wedding band onto Sheldon's ring finger.

Mary Cooper and Mee-maw both sobbed in the front row, both proud and also apprehensive of Sheldon's reaction.

He didn't even bat an eyelid, just smiled.

"Now, Sheldon…"

"Actually…I wrote my own vows." Sheldon cut the minister off, looking Amy in the eyes. "May I?"

The Minister nodded and stepped back.

Sheldon looked out at all the people in the seats, and almost had a panic attack.

_That's a lot of people!_

He looked to his mother and his Mee-maw, his brother and sister, who smiled encouragingly. He then looked back at Amy and suddenly, the fear evaporated.

"Amy…I'm not going to repeat a line from some action movie or a TV show; this is coming from the heart I never knew I had until I met you. I never thought it was possible for me of all people to form even a close friendship with anyone, let alone a relationship. You've been so patient and encouraging with me; you're helpful and kind and everything I wanted, except… I never knew I wanted it until I met you. And I don't care what you think of yourself or what people said in the past, you're beautiful to me. I love you for who you are and I promise I'll never stop, no matter what. We've been through enough as it is, and my feelings have only gotten stronger."

He slipped the ring onto Amy's finger, and looked back up, upon hearing gasps from the entire room, including Amy.

He looked at her, and her eyes were glistening with threatening tears, her grin a mile wide.

The minister stepped back forward. "By the power vested in me and the state of California…"

"You forgot the Klingon High Council." Sheldon whispered.

The minister frowned at him. "Uh…Yes, the state of California and the…Uh, Klingon High Council – whatever that is – I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Sheldon pulled Amy into a long kiss, as everyone in the room erupted into cheers and claps.

Sheldon and Amy walked back down the aisle grinning widely, hand in hand.

"We're proud of you Shelly!" Mary Cooper called out.

"Me too, Amy." Mrs Fowler added, wiping her eyes.

Everyone proceeded to throw rice and confetti over the couple.

Sheldon leaned in to whisper to Amy. "Do they really need to throw that at us? What if a pigeon gets in and…"

"I'll make sure it poops on you first." Amy joked.

Sheldon rolled his eyes and laughed.

"We have exactly five minutes to get to the garden for the photographs, come on." He held Amy's hand tighter and pulled her into a run, with everyone else following on behind.

..

**A/N: I did my best with the wedding scene…I've never actually been married or been to a wedding since I was kid, so I can't remember most of it haha! Hope you liked it anyway…There will be partying and marriage consummation next! ;) Please review! Thanks for reading…**


	41. Chapter 41

The reception was just a sit-down dinner with musical entertainment, not the usual party like anyone else would have.

Sheldon and Amy hadn't wanted anything crazy.

Once they had finished their dinner, the guests mingled with each other and the newlyweds.

"I can't believe my Shellybean is a married man!" Mary grinned, "Welcome to the Cooper family, Amy!" She threw her arms around her new daughter-in-law.

"Dad would be so proud of you!" Missy added, hugging Sheldon, who rolled his eyes.

"No he wouldn't!" Sheldon muttered, "he was never proud of me. I wasn't 'man' enough."

"Oh, I think he'd think different if he saw you today, Shelly!" George said, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

"Really?" Sheldon blinked.

"Yeah. You've changed lil' bro. We're all mighty proud." George awkwardly man-hugged Sheldon, who froze uncomfortably.

Amy's mother came over to hug her daughter and Sheldon. "Look after my daughter, won't you Sheldon?" She asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Of course, Ms Fowler." He promised, squeezing Amy close.

Someone had approached the stage where the band were playing and was tapping a fork against a glass to get the attention of the room.

"Hello everyone, my name's Penny. I know Leonard already made his Best Man speech, but I just want to say huge congratulations to the newlyweds, and wish them all the happiness in the world; I've known Sheldon for about seven years now, and Amy for four years, and they have been the perfect couple right from the start. They may not have been interested in romance at first, and while they have always been a very…quirky…couple, everyone knew that they were in love before they even did! You guys are perfect for each other and you have proven that further after everything that you faced together. So I'd like to raise another toast to Amy and Sheldon; Dr and Dr Cooper!" Penny grinned, as everyone raised their glasses.

"To Amy and Sheldon Cooper!" The room chorused before applauding.

Bernadette took over the microphone.

"As Amy and Sheldon's closest friends, we have all been working really hard for the last few weeks to perfect this for you…And we know they've already had their first dance as husband and wife, but we made this especially. So without further ado, I'd like to present to you our 5-person band, Nerdvana!"

The room rippled with laughter at the name.

Bernadette placed the CD into the player and a backing track began to play.

Amy recognised it as Marry You by Bruno Mars, but Sheldon wasn't sure what it was.

Although, he had to admit that as a group, their friends sounded pretty good.

They had obviously worked really hard to perfect their singing voices.

Amy took Sheldon's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor, joined by lots of other couples.

"I thought we weren't dancing tonight, apart from our first dance?" Sheldon asked Amy.

Amy laughed. "Just this one…Come on, our friends worked so hard on this for us."

Sheldon smiled and nodded, trying his best to keep up with Amy, who had consumed three glasses of wine and was dancing excitedly.

Everyone was pretty shocked at how high Raj could get his voice on the 'just say I do' line of the song at first, but soon got used to it.

When the song was over, everyone cheered and clapped as Penny, Bernadette, Leonard, Howard and Raj took a bow and ran off the stage, letting the band play their soft music again.

"So, what did you think?" Leonard grinned.

"I never knew you could sing." Sheldon replied.

"We couldn't, until Penny and Bernadette gave us lessons two months ago."

"You rehearsed for two months!?" Amy gasped.

"Yeah, we wanted to surprise you." Bernadette replied.

Amy hugged them all in turn, smiling. "That's so sweet; thank you!"

"You're welcome…_Mrs _Dr Cooper!" Penny giggled.

"I have to say, you were outstanding. That was such a thoughtful gesture, and I am very grateful." Sheldon said, shyly.

"Aww, you're welcome." Penny laughed.

"Did you see how high I got my voice?" Raj chuckled. "I worked really hard on that."

"You could already do that." Howard muttered.

"Shh!" Was Raj's response.

"So, what's going on about the Honeymoon?" Leonard asked. "You never told us where you were going."

"We're going to the Florida Keys; we rented a place for the week, right on the beach of Key West. It's not hurricane season for another couple of months so we should be fine, but we asked for precautions to be made upon arrival, just in case." Sheldon answered.

"You know, just the location would have been enough." Howard quipped, playfully.

"Hey, Coopew! Thanks fow inviting me to the wedding. Congwatulations!" Barry Kripke called out, as he approached with his girlfriend, whom Amy recognised from the whole Joyce Kim episode.

"Hey Barry, hi Michelle." Amy and Sheldon greeted.

"Glad you could make it." Sheldon said politely.

"You know Coopew, I'm gwad we managed to push aww that siwwy wivalwy undew the wug. You and Amy make a fine couple. Had any mowe gwief off that cwazy Joyce Kim lady?" Kripke asked, sipping his wine.

"No, we haven't. But her son is waiting tables here. You remember Dennis Kim?"

"Oh, the dwopout Korean kid? Suwe. He tuwned into a nice guy. I just saw him hewe, he was just tewwing me his mom got wocked up and he's weally welieved about it." Barry said.

Amy sighed with relief. "Thank God."

Barry and Michelle smiled and walked over to the bar, whilst Sheldon and Amy were ushered to the bathrooms to change and get ready; their car to the airport was due in 20 minutes.

They grabbed all of their last minute belongings and said goodbye to everyone just as the car turned up.

"Have a great Honeymoon!" Everyone smiled, hugging them.

As the couple hurried out of the building, everyone made a 'tunnel' with their arms for Amy and Sheldon to run through to the car.

They sighed as they were driven to the airport.

"Well, we did it." Amy grinned at Sheldon.

He smiled back. "We did…And no backsies!"

"Never." Amy responded, as Sheldon leaned in to kiss her.

..

"Oh my God; this is the most beautiful room I've ever seen!" Amy gasped.

They had arrived at their hotel room in Key West, and it was now eleven O'clock at night.

They dumped their suitcases and hand luggage by the desk and sat on the bed, sighing.

"Do you suppose it's too late to order room service?" Sheldon asked.

Picking up the menu, Amy read it.

"Nope, it says until 1am. That's lucky!" She picked up the phone and dialled room service, asking if they could bring up some pancakes.

"Ask for bacon and maple syrup!" Sheldon whispered.

Amy did so, and thanked the person on the other line before ending the call.

The two of them changed into their loungewear and waited for the food to arrive.

Sheldon answered the door and took the food, thanking the man and giving him a tip.

"Thank you sir!" He grinned, "Congratulations on the wedding, and have a wonderful night."

"Oh we will. Thank you." Sheldon replied, closing the door.

Amy took the lid off the tray and felt her mouth water at the sight of the pancakes and bacon.

The kitchen staff had kindly included two bottles of cold water, even though the room was equipped with a full fridge, free of charge for the Honeymoon suite.

"Wait…Before we eat…" Sheldon began, placing the lid back on the food. "I believe that there's a matter we need to tend to."

Amy frowned. "What?"

Sheldon moved forward and swiftly took Amy by the waist, lowering her to the bed, kissing her passionately.

"We need to do it before midnight, and we have forty minutes."

"Do what?"

Sheldon gave her a withering look. "Make love…Consummate our marriage, and it has to be on our wedding night!"

"Oh." A grin spread across Amy's face. "That!"

She leaned down into her hand luggage and started rummaging through it, whilst Sheldon placed light kisses all over her neck and shoulders.

Amy returned upright with a condom in her hand and Sheldon frowned.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a little sadly.

"Uh…Getting ready?" Amy replied, confused.

"Don't you remember our agreement a few months back?"

"We've had many agreements; could you refresh my memory?"

Sheldon sighed. "The agreement that, if I still want to, we can try to reproduce on our wedding night."

Amy blinked, her eyes widening a little. "You still want that?"

"Yes…Why? Don't you?" Sheldon looked a little hurt.

"Of course I do, I just thought you'd abandoned the idea." Amy responded. "You never mentioned it since, and I didn't want to just in case you freaked out."

"I didn't freak out about the wedding." Sheldon pointed out.

"True."

"Amy, I know we just got married today, and if you don't want to, I respect your decision. I mean, you wanted a child before I did, and it's your body that will be changing, so it's your call. I don't mind waiting." Sheldon said softly, pushing Amy's hair back from her face.

She really looked at him then.

The Sheldon she once knew had near enough vanished.

Well, he was still here, and she loved that about him. All that had changed were his views on relationships, family and his maturity levels.

It was then that she knew.

"No…I-I'd like to try now." She answered, smiling.

Sheldon smiled back at her. "Are you sure?"

Amy nodded. "Very sure."

Sheldon picked the condom up off the bed and tossed it across the room, leaning in to kiss Amy again, and lay her down on the bed as he took off her shirt and her bra.

Amy tugged Sheldon's shirt off over his head and tried to pull his pants off.

Once they had de-robed each other, Sheldon inserted himself and slowly made love to her, rolling his hips against hers, with their lips practically melted together, and his hands placed on her back.

Sheldon and Amy had obviously had sex many times, but this was different.

This was out of pure love, not just passion or fun.

They really connected with each other and became one tonight.

Their soft moans and breathing finally died down as they climaxed together, and lay holding each other just as the clock struck midnight.

Finally, Sheldon moved.

"You may want to angle your hips upwards for a short while." He said.

"Why?"

"It will…You know, help get _things _flowing to the right places."

"Ohh, of course."

Sheldon brought the food onto the bed, along with the forks.

"I usually wouldn't allow this, but tonight is a special occasion; please try not to leave crumbs." He winked.

"I think we have left worse things than crumbs on these hotel sheets tonight, Sheldon." Amy laughed.

"Good point, but let's at least not take liberties." He divided the food equally between the both of them, and they began to eat.

"Can I lie properly now? This is really awkward." Amy asked.

"Um I think you need a bit longer…" Sheldon said, apologetically.

Amy just shrugged, and tried to turn her top half to the side to eat.

She managed to finish her food, and finally got tired of holding her bottom half up off the bed.

"How about now?"

"That should do it."

Amy let out a breath of relief, letting her legs lie flat now.

"Do you feel anything like, 'escaping'?" Sheldon asked quietly.

Amy frowned, concentrating. "Nope, nothing."

"Ah good. Maybe it's worked then."

Sheldon put the tray back on the desk and sat back down, flicking the TV on and turning the volume down.

He cuddled up to Amy and kissed her lovingly.

"What should we do in the morning? We could go to Old Town Key West?" He asked.

"I don't know, but can we figure it out then? I'm exhausted." Amy replied.

"Alright. Goodnight Amy Cooper." Sheldon kissed her one last time.

"Goodnight." Amy responded, snuggling down onto the pillow and closing her eyes.

Sheldon fell asleep shortly after, his arms wrapped around Amy's middle.


	42. Chapter 42

Amy woke up the next morning and frowned.

As she glanced around the room, it suddenly dawned on her.

_I'm officially Sheldon Cooper's wife!_

Part of her felt sad that all those months of planning and excitement were over, but she reminded herself that they were on their honeymoon now. Best enjoy it.

And last night…Last night had been perfect.

Amy had never felt so connected with Sheldon before. It was like the two of them had literally become one.

She looked to the sliding doors, realising that the curtains were drawn open, and the sun was beaming in.

Sheldon sat in one of the chairs by the doors, reading his latest copy of Neuron.

He instinctively looked up and grinned.

"Good morning, Mrs Cooper." He said softly.

"It's _Doctor _Cooper, actually." Amy replied with mock-haughtiness.

Sheldon laughed and walked over to the bed, leaning down to plant a kiss on Amy.

"What time is it?" Amy asked, sitting up.

"Eight thirty. Breakfast doesn't finish until eleven, so we can go down whenever you want." Sheldon said, although Amy swore she saw his eye twitch.

She knew how he was with timing and schedules.

"I'll get ready now and we'll go." She smiled, pulling herself out of bed and padding into the bathroom.

Sheldon's cell phone bleeped, and he took it off the charger to read the text.

It was Leonard.

"_Hey Sheldon, did you and Amy arrive at the hotel safely and on time?"_

Sheldon tapped out his reply.

"_Hello Leonard. Yes, the flight was on time, the car was on time and we arrived safely. Thank you for the consideration."_

He put the phone in his pocket, and wandered out onto the balcony, taking in the heat and the amazing view of the white, sandy beach, palm trees and the blue ocean.

Down below them, there was one of the outdoor swimming pools, which had only one person using it, swimming seriously up and down the length of the pool.

Sheldon chuckled to himself, and continued just watching the people go by.

A few minutes later, Amy emerged on to the balcony in a stylish light blue, green and brown leaf-print dress, with the gladiator sandals that Raj had given her for her birthday.

She had her big bag with her, and her sunglasses on her head.

Sheldon noted that she had natural make-up on and had dried and styled her hair into 'beach waves'. He also smelled coconut on her.

"Ready to go?" Amy asked softly.

"Yes." Sheldon replied, walking back indoors and locking the balcony doors. He picked up his belongings before using the bathroom himself, and followed Amy to the restaurant, locking the door behind them.

..

After their breakfast, Amy and Sheldon had made their way to Old Town Key West, in the car that Amy had hired.

"There are chickens wandering the streets!" Sheldon frowned.

"Relax; they won't chase you up a tree." Amy giggled.

Sheldon gave her a withering look. "Not funny."

Amy parked the car, and they both got out.

"The Museum of History. Here we are." She smiled.

"I thought you would want to relax on the beach?" Sheldon asked. "Is that not what Honeymoons are for? To relax together?"

"Sheldon, it's us. Of course we are going to visit museums! I plan to sunbathe, of course, but not for the entirety of the vacation."

Sheldon smiled at her and took her hand as they walked in.

..

The museum had been interesting, but hadn't taken long to look around.

Amy and Sheldon drove to Subway and ordered their sandwiches, before taking a seat by the window.

It was near enough empty at the moment, apart from two business men on the other side of the room, discussing work in between bites.

Sheldon turned to Amy and lowered his voice.

"How are you feeling?"

Amy frowned. "I'm fine, why?"

"No I mean…_How are you feeling?_" Sheldon asked, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Uh…Again, I'm fine…" Amy was confused.

"What I mean is; do you feel pregnant yet?" Sheldon whispered.

"Ohhh, no not yet. It will take at least 2 weeks or more for me to feel symptoms, and it may not have been successful this time. We need to keep doing it." Amy whispered in response.

"Oh. Fine by me!" Sheldon nodded. "Do you want to go now?"

Amy laughed. "It's only just 12 O'clock; we still need to see the sights."

Sheldon pouted.

"Night times are reserved for _that_ anyway, you know that." Amy whispered.

"Yeah you're right." Sheldon sighed, producing a pack of baby wipes from his satchel and proceeding to wipe his hands with them. He held out the packet to Amy, who took one and did the same.

"I love the smell of these." She said.

"Well that's fortunate. When we do have a baby, you can smell them as much as you like." Sheldon replied.

He felt eyes on him and turned around and noticed the businessmen staring at him.

"I meant the baby wipes. Don't be disgusting." Sheldon said.

The two men nodded and returned to their conversation about numbers.

"So where shall we go now?" Sheldon asked.

"I was thinking we could go to the Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden." Amy replied.

"Alright, let's go." Sheldon said, as he and Amy got to their feet. "Thank you for the sandwiches." Sheldon called out to the workers.

"You're welcome." They smiled in return.

"That was unusually pleasant of you, Sheldon." Amy chuckled, walking through the door.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me!" Sheldon winked.

..

Arriving at the Botanical Garden, Amy whipped out her camera from her oversized bag.

Sheldon blinked. "I didn't know you possessed a digital SLR?"

"Yep. And it's got a fully charged battery and a fresh memory card." She replied as she began snapping pictures of the plants, and the birds, lizards and butterflies.

Sheldon was happy for her to take these photos, as he held her hand and walked around, enjoying the scenery, and the fact that he knew what most of these plants were called in Latin!

As they reached a clearing with a leafy tropical tree, Amy set her camera down on timer and ran next to Sheldon, who put his arm around her as they posed for the photo.

Amy picked her camera back up and looked at the photo.

"That's brilliant!" Sheldon smiled, peering over her shoulder.

Amy smiled back, and then widened her eyes. "Uh…Sheldon…"

"What?"

Amy pointed to her shoulder, and Sheldon frowned, looking at his left shoulder.

"No the other one…" Amy said.

As Sheldon turned his head, he almost had a heart attack. "Oh good Lord!" He cried.

There was a tiny lizard perched on his shoulder.

Amy snapped a photo and then inched closer. "He must have climbed down from the tree on to your shoulder." She said.

"Yes, wonderful, please get it off." Sheldon begged.

Rolling her eyes, Amy gently peeled the lizard off and set it down in the plants on the floor, where it scurried away.

"Amy…Would you please sanitise your hands before touching me?" Sheldon asked.

"I was just about to; hold your horses!" Amy laughed, taking the hand sanitizer out from her bag and spritzing it on her hands.

Oh, before I forget…" She spritzed some on Sheldon's shoulder, making a wet patch on his shirt.

"Thank you." Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, panic over, let's continue."

..

That night, the couple returned from dinner in the hotel restaurant and flopped on their bed.

"That was a great day! What shall we do tomorrow?" Sheldon asked.

"It's your call." Amy replied, flicking the TV on.

"Well, I know you want to look at that shopping mall we passed earlier. Conch Plaza wasn't it?" Sheldon looked to Amy, who nodded in confirmation.

"And the beach so you can sunbathe." Sheldon finished.

"We can shop later…Sunbathe first." Amy replied, tiredly.

"Deal." Sheldon nodded, closing his eyes and exhaling loudly.

"Are you going to sleep already?" Amy asked.

"No; I was just resting my eyes. We had a pretty busy day, and we just ate, so…"

"Okay, good. Because remember, we have something we need to do."

"That is one thing I won't forget." Sheldon promised, wrapping his arm around Amy, who had taken her laptop out of the safe in the room, and was plugging the charge cable into the socket by the bed.

Amy hastily took the memory card out of the camera, and plugged it into a USB adaptor to download the photos onto the laptop.

She then uploaded them to her Facebook page and began to tag herself and Sheldon in the photos.

Within minutes, Penny and Leonard were commenting on a few of them.

"Oh look; Leonard and Penny are online. Let's see how they're doing." Sheldon said.

"Again; unusually pleasant of you, Sheldon." Amy smiled, opening up the chat windows and typing to their friends.

"And again, it's because you bring out the best in me." He replied.

After about forty minutes of chatting with their friends, Amy said goodbye and logged out of Facebook.

She turned to look meaningfully at Sheldon. "Oh…Is it time?" He asked.

"Well we need to freshen up first, but yes…Off you go." Amy responded.

"Very well." Sheldon replied, retreating to the bathroom to get ready.

Upon his return, Amy went in and began to prepare herself, slipping on the negligee that she had snuck into the bathroom with her.

Minutes later, she returned to the room and was shocked to find the main light off, the fan on, and the room was dimly lit by the lamps on the desk.

Sheldon was waiting under the covers, and looked up as Amy entered the room.

She slipped into the bed beside him, and was pleasantly surprised to see he was already naked.

Leaning forward, Sheldon pulled Amy close to him and began to kiss her intensely, his tongue running along hers, making Amy shudder with delight.

"I see you brought an old friend." Sheldon nodded at the negligee.

"Yeah, I thought you might like it." Amy replied.

"I do." Sheldon confirmed, running his hand up Amy's side, to the nape of her neck, as he kissed her again.

Amy gasped lightly as Sheldon ground his erection against her.

"Tell me when you're ready." He said, barely above a whisper.

"Now. I'm ready now!" Amy replied, quickly.

Sheldon gently entered her, and the two of them got lost in the moment, rolling their hips together, breathing heavily and moaning softly.

At one point, Amy felt Sheldon get close, but then he stopped.

"What are you doing? Have you…?"

"No." He shook his head, "I'm holding it in a bit longer."

"Why?" Amy asked, almost sadly.

"Because when I do go, it'll be more intense, and there will be more to…You know..."

"But why?" Amy asked.

"Something I read online." Sheldon confessed. "Apparently it helps?"

Amy just nodded, and after a few moments, they began moving again.

As Sheldon penetrated her deeper, his pace quickened and he felt Amy release just before he did.

Taking a deep breath, he all but collapsed on top of her.

Amy just laughed. "Tired, are we?"

Sheldon said nothing, but just nodded. He looked up. "Well, if that didn't work then I don't know what will." He rolled off Amy, worried that he might crush her. "Are you alright?" He asked softly.

She nodded. "Better than alright, obviously!"

"Good. I'm going to clean up. Remember to keep your hips upright for a few minutes." He reminded, kissing Amy lovingly.

Just as Sheldon was making his way to the bathroom to clean himself, Amy stopped him.

"Sheldon, wait…"

He turned around to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…If it doesn't work this time, don't worry, okay? There's no immediate rush, remember?" She smiled.

Sheldon smiled back. "I know. It takes a while, that's why I proposed we started now."

Amy nodded in return. "Good…I love you."

"I love you too." Sheldon closed the bathroom door, and Amy heard the shower being switched on.

"Now I just have to stay like this for fifteen minutes." She muttered to herself. "May as well close my eyes for a few minutes." She closed her eyes and crossed one leg over the other to make herself comfortable.

That was how Sheldon found her when he returned from the shower.

He smiled to himself as he got into bed and wrapped an arm around her, drifting into sleep.


	43. Chapter 43

The rest of the honeymoon went spectacularly well, and as Amy and Sheldon boarded the plane back to California, they felt sad to be leaving.

"I guess it's back home to married life." Amy sighed.

"Do I detect a hint of regret there, Dr Cooper?" Sheldon asked.

"No of course not. I just didn't want to leave. We had fun in Key West…You never have fun!" Amy replied.

"Excuse me; I'm just as much fun as anyone else." Sheldon whined.

"I know, I meant you let loose and had fun. We went to all those places and took all those pictures and had a great time. The Sheldon I used to know wouldn't have done any of that." Amy responded as they took their seats and switched their phones to flight mode.

"Like I have said many times on this vacation; you bring out the best in me." He kissed Amy on the lips, and fastened his seatbelt.

Amy clicked hers into place and took a breath. "There's something I need to run past you."

"What's that?" Sheldon asked.

"Now that I am also a Dr Cooper, I was wondering if you minded me being referred to as Mrs Cooper, unless it is work related." Amy asked.

"But…You have a doctorate."

"I know, but that way it's easy for people to differentiate. Of course I'd have to go through the entire name change thing."

"Why don't you go double-barrelled?" Sheldon suggested. "You know; Fowler-Cooper."

Amy shook her head. "I don't like that."

"How about if you combine your middle name with your last name, like you did before? Farrah Cooper."

"I guess I could." Amy shrugged. "But as long as you just call me Mrs Cooper. Deal?"

"Deal."

Amy opened her magazine, just as the plane taxied down the runway ready for take-off.

As the speed increased, Sheldon felt his ears pop, which he hated, and the plane took off.

"Whee!" He said quietly.

Amy smiled at him.

"What are you reading?" Sheldon asked, bending his head to try and get a good look at the magazine cover.

Amy held it up to show him.

"Cosmopolitan? Amy! Why would you read such a mainstream, gossipy publication?" Sheldon frowned. "Another Penny introduction?"

"It was Bernadette actually." Amy sniffed, turning the page. "And because, like I have told you many times, I am a lady, and with that comes a need to read glossy magazines that make me hate my body."

Sheldon huffed a little. "I don't hate your body." He gave Amy a meaningful look, but she was too engrossed in her magazine to notice.

Peering over her shoulder, Sheldon noticed that she was reading an article entitled: '10 ways to excite your man.'

He raised his eyebrows slightly, secretly hoping that Amy would try out those hypotheses on him back at home.

'_In fact_,' He thought, '_why wait?'_

He looked behind him where there were four toilets; one on their side, two either side of the middle aisles, and one on the far side of the plane.

They were in first class, and hardly anyone was there, so nobody would be using the first class toilets.

"You know, if you want to try any of those out, we can." He whispered.

"I plan to." Amy replied.

"I meant now."

"Sheldon, we're on a plane!" Amy hissed.

"Yes, but there are four bathrooms in first class, and probably about 8 in economy, so nobody will be worried about us using one."

"Okay," Amy sighed, closing her magazine and turning to look at her husband. "What is going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked.

"The Sheldon I know would _never _have sex in an airplane toilet! No matter how clean."

"Well the baser urge-controlled Sheldon would." He replied.

"There's no room anyway." Amy shook her head.

"You're running out of excuses." Sheldon grinned.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I am not engaging in sexual intercourse with you in an airplane toilet!" Amy hissed.

Sheldon nodded once. "Fair enough."

There were a few moments' silence between them, before he looked at Amy again.

"It's a shame though; considering number 5 looked very pleasing, and it would have been exceptionally stimulating for you too. But, if you don't want to, that's fine too." He shrugged, then looked mischievously out of the corner of his eye.

"Meet me there in three minutes!" Amy whispered, undoing her seatbelt and wandering to the toilet nearest to them.

Sheldon watched her go, and counted three minutes on his watch, before getting to his feet and approaching the door.

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Amy,"

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Amy,"

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Amy; are you okay in there?" He asked, looking around.

The first class was so empty that nobody noticed him, not even the flight attendants.

"Oh yes, I am having trouble with the faucet, it's too stiff." Amy replied, hoping that people would believe it.

"Pun intended?" Sheldon asked as Amy let him in and locked the door.

"Yep." Amy replied, putting the toilet lid down and sitting on it, and grabbing Sheldon's face as she kissed it passionately.

"We have to make this quick." Amy whispered, pulling her skirt down.

"A quickie? Really?" Sheldon pouted, pulling his own pants down.

"We have to, or people will get suspicious." Amy replied, as Sheldon sat on the lid and pulled Amy onto his lap.

As he entered her and began to move in time with her, he spoke; "I hope to God there's no turbulence!"

"Why? It might make it more fun…Not that it isn't fun anyway!" Amy responded.

The two of them began making out intensely and increasing their depth and speed. As Amy released, Sheldon released seconds later, breathing heavily.

They pulled their clothes back on and tried to make themselves presentable, washing their hands in the process.

Sheldon was about to open the door, but Amy stopped him. "Wait!"

She immediately began to cry.

Sheldon was horrified. "Oh God, Amy I'm so sorry, did I hurt you? Or offend you by trying to leave too soon?"

"No, play along!" She whispered back. "Pretend I was having a panic attack and you were helping me."

Sheldon blinked. "That's genius." He whispered, and then spoke up again. "It's okay Amy; we'll be back in California soon. Nothing will happen to us."

He opened the door, and almost collided with a flight attendant.

"Oops! Is everything okay in there?" She looked a little suspicious.

"Yes, my wife is scared of flying and had a panic attack; she couldn't breathe so I helped to calm her down." Sheldon lied.

"In a cramped toilet?" The attendant asked.

"I didn't want anyone else to see me like this." Amy said in reply.

The flight attendant put her hand on Amy's arm gently. "You poor thing. I assure you, it's much safer to fly than it is to drive. You're very safe, and it's not a long-haul flight, we will be back in LA soon. If you need anything, just ask." She smiled, before walking further down the aisle.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief, and ceased crying, wiping under her eyes.

"That was brilliant!" Sheldon said. "You should be an actress like Penny!"

"With all due respect to my bestie; no way Jose!" Amy shook her head. "I'd rather have a safe, full-time job where I am now. It's too tough to get into acting."

..

As the plane landed, Amy and Sheldon grabbed their things and turned their phones back on again.

Making sure they had everything, they exited the plane and made their way through security before proceeding to collect their luggage.

"I am so glad we brought two suitcases!" Amy grinned, hauling hers off the conveyor belt, as Sheldon did the same with his. "All those clothes and things I bought…"

"You did go a little overboard, but who am I to complain? You looked great in all of them!" Sheldon replied, squeezing Amy close.

They made their way outside to the parking lot, where Leonard had said he would meet them.

Catching sight of Leonard's car, Sheldon and Amy approached as Leonard got out to help them put their luggage in the trunk.

"Hey! There are the newlyweds! How was your honeymoon?" Leonard grinned, taking the first suitcase. "Good God, what is in here? Did you bring the entire state of Florida back with you?" He joked.

"It was fantastic." Sheldon and Amy chorused.

"And no, just some clothes and things, and some presents for you guys." Amy explained.

"Ah gotcha. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. I saw some of the photos; it looked great. How was the flight?"

"Oh, it was shorter than we expected." Amy replied, looking up at Sheldon, and upon catching his eye, the two of them erupted into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Leonard asked, stashing the last suitcase on the front passenger seat, and securing it with the seatbelt.

"Oh nothing…" Amy teased.

"Amy and I had coitus on the plane." Sheldon replied, making himself and Amy giggle again.

Leonard stared at them in shock. "Um…Sorry, what?"

"We had intercourse. I don't understand what could possibly be tripping you up?" Sheldon frowned.

"The part about you doing it _on the plane._" Leonard responded. "In front of people!?"

"No; in one of the bathrooms."

"Okay, that's even less believable. Sheldon Cooper, the man who is afraid of contracting germs by touching the TV remote after anyone else, had sex in an airplane toilet?"

Sheldon gave Leonard a withering look. "What can I say? Amy brings out my wild side!"

"No kidding." Leonard muttered.

..

On the ride home, Leonard got a call from Penny, explaining that she was running late at work.

As he spoke over the loudspeaker, Sheldon turned to Amy and rested his hand on her stomach.

"Anything?" He whispered.

"No not yet; I told you it would be two weeks at the very least before symptoms appear." Amy replied, a little sadly.

"I hope that when they do, they don't make you too sick." Sheldon said, removing his hand, and taking Amy's hand in it instead.

"Thank you Sheldon, that's very sweet of you." Amy smiled, kissing him on the lips.

As Leonard turned off the hands free set, he looked up at the rear-view mirror.

"I hope you two aren't planning on doing it in the backseat!" He grinned.

"Not while you're in here, no." Sheldon answered, making Amy snort with laughter.

Leonard grimaced. "Please tell me you haven't!"

"Not yet." Sheldon answered. "It will be Amy's car before yours."

Leonard pursed his lips and sighed. "Oh boy…Welcome back, Sheldon."

..

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! They really do keep me going! So…Please review this chapter! :) Thanks for reading, will update soon!**


	44. Chapter 44

That evening, the gang all gathered at Leonard, Sheldon and Amy's apartment to welcome the newlyweds home.

As they sat down and tucked into their pizza (which Leonard could now enjoy, as the pizza place had introduced a lactose-free pizza!), everyone was asking how the honeymoon went.

"So…How was the sex?" Howard asked.

At that, everyone fell silent, giving him a warning look and dropping their forks.

"Um Howard…We don't ask that." Leonard whispered.

"It's okay Leonard; Howard, if you must know, we had intercourse every night. The first night, when we consummated our marriage was the best though." Sheldon explained.

The entire room fell silent again as everyone gave Sheldon funny looks.

"It was so romantic." Amy grinned.

"We're trying for a baby too." Sheldon added, and almost everyone choked on their food or spat their mouthfuls out.

"What!?" Leonard cried.

"Seriously?" Penny added.

Sheldon frowned. "Yes…Why?"

"N-nothing. No reason." Penny replied, finishing off her food and putting her dish back down.

The subject changed onto the photos that they had taken on the honeymoon.

As Amy showed everyone the photos, Penny quietly slipped up to Sheldon.

"Can I speak to you?" She whispered.

"You can." He replied, without moving.

Penny sighed. "_Will _you come and speak to me?"

"Of course." Sheldon followed Penny into the hallway. "What is it?" He asked, upon reaching the hall.

Penny sighed again. "So, uh…You and Amy are trying for a baby?"

"Yes." Sheldon replied. "I'm sensing that you have some sort of problem with this?"

"Well…I'm very happy that you want to commit to Amy and start a family with her, but do you even realise how much work a baby is? They need constant care and attention, feeding, diaper changes, burping, cleaning up after and everything!" Penny explained.

"So?"

"So…Are you really ready for that? I mean you're so dedicated to your work! You hate the thought of germs, and cleaning up a baby's diaper and other bodily fluids just seems…You know, a little too much for you." Penny said gently.

She looked up at Sheldon, who held a blank expression. "I already know all of this Penny; I'm a physicist, I know almost everything about the universe and all it contains, so why are you telling me?"

"Because you and Amy are my friends, and I don't want you rushing into having a baby and finding yourselves in too deep with no way out." Penny replied.

"I appreciate the concern, but I already educated myself on all of this." Sheldon replied, softly. "I know what to expect. I want to do it."

"But Sheldon…"

"Penny, it's fine. I know how I am, but Amy has helped me through all of my issues, and I have been training my brain into thinking differently. I'm ready for this. And to tell you the truth, my father wasn't the best to me and my siblings, and I want to have the chance to be a good father, unlike him." Sheldon looked at her meaningfully, and Penny smiled.

"Okay…Well then, I wish you and Amy luck and hope you can have a baby real soon." She hugged her neighbour, and for once he didn't pull away.

"See? Brain training." Sheldon said, smugly.

..

After everyone had left that evening, Leonard and Penny had retired to bed early, and left Amy and Sheldon in the living room watching a late-night documentary on bats.

"What did Penny talk to you about?" Amy asked.

"She was asking if I knew what having a baby meant, vis-à-vis diaper changing, constant care and attention etcetera, and if I was really ready." Sheldon replied.

"Oh…Well, are you?"

"Yes."

"Even though it includes all of those…"

"Yes. I'm ready."

Amy smiled and kissed him on the lips. "Do you mind if we don't have sex tonight?" she requested.

Sheldon frowned. "Why? Are you trying to put off getting pregnant?" He asked sadly.

"No of course not. Don't get me wrong, I love having sex with you, and want a child with you more than anything, but tonight I just want to cuddle. Is that okay?" Amy looked up into Sheldon's bright blue eyes.

"Of course." He relaxed, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek on top of her hair.

..

When Sheldon went back to work the next week, he was greeted by his colleagues cheering in the cafeteria at lunchtime.

"Welcome to married life!" President Siebert patted him on the shoulder.

"Thank you, but all of this fuss isn't necessary, I just want to eat my lunch quietly." Sheldon said, politely.

"Fair enough…Hey, you didn't swat my hand away!" Siebert grinned. "That's progress Dr Cooper! That lovely wife of yours brings out the best in you!" He smiled, walking away as the cheering died down.

"That's what I say." Sheldon replied.

Sheldon joined his friends at a table and tucked into his food, listening to Leonard and Howard arguing with Raj about zombies, yet again.

"Sheldon, what do you think?" Raj whined, "Are zombies really possible?"

"No." Sheldon replied. "Sorry Raj."

"Ha! Three against one!" Howard said, childishly.

"Calm down, Wolowitz. No need for juvenile taunts." Sheldon said, sensibly. Then he frowned.

_Where had that come from!?_

Even Raj was shocked. "Thank you Sheldon." He blinked.

Sheldon's cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

Fishing it out, he swiped the screen to unlock it and read the message.

His eyes widened ad he swallowed.

"I need to go." He announced, getting to his feet, abandoning his tray as he slung his satchel across his body.

"Whoa, wait, what's the rush?" Leonard asked.

"I'll tell you later." Sheldon hurried through the halls, and upon reaching his office, he almost collided with Alex.

"Sorry Dr Cooper."

"No, entirely my fault Miss Jensen. I…I have to leave for the rest of the afternoon, will you be okay to finish this up?" Sheldon asked, handing her his notes from his satchel.

Her eyes shone. "You want me to write this up?"

"Yes please Alex; that would be great. Thank you. I'll give you a $50 bonus for it in your pay packet!" And with that, he all but ran through the hallways, out of the building and to the bus stop.

He climbed on board and paid his fare, sitting down anxiously, staring at the message over and over again.

..

Arriving at Los Robles, Sheldon thanked the driver and hurried off the bus and up the road to his building.

Racing up the stairs, he finally reached the fourth floor and opened the door to 4A.

Amy was sat on the couch, nervously.

Sheldon ran to sit next to her. "Have you…?"

"Not yet."

"Then maybe you should…"

Amy nodded, kissing Sheldon and leaving the room for a few minutes.

Upon returning, she placed the object on the coffee table, on top of its box, so as not to contaminate any surfaces.

The time went so slowly, and Sheldon grabbed Amy's hand squeezing it tight.

"Okay…Ready?" She asked.

Sheldon nodded. "Ready."

Amy flipped over the stick and her expression turned to one of disappointment.

"Negative."

Sheldon closed his eyes, sighing. "Drat."

"It's only our first try." Amy said, softly.

"True…What made you think you could be pregnant anyway?" Sheldon asked.

"Well it's been just over two weeks since our wedding, so I figured it was possible. Plus, I'm three days late and have been getting unfamiliar cramps in my abdomen, and have been off my food." Amy replied.

"Well, maybe it's still too early to tell?" Sheldon suggested.

"Perhaps you're right." Amy smiled.

"Never mind…Let me treat you to lunch." Sheldon said, softly. "Come on."

..

That night, Sheldon had trouble sleeping.

He felt Amy stir in the middle of the night, and heard her go to the bathroom, only to return minutes later, sobbing quietly.

The physicist rolled over, his face pinched with concern.

"Amy?" He enquired gently, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I'm being stupid." She wept.

"You could never be stupid; talk to me." Sheldon coaxed.

"I got my period." Amy whispered.

Sheldon felt like he had been shot through the heart.

But, being a man of Texas, he had to look after his woman.

Wordlessly, he scooped her into a hug and pulled her closer, closing his eyes and stroking her hair.

"Remember what you told me; it's only our first try." He reminded her.

"Do you think the attack caused some damage to me?" Amy asked.

"I doubt it; the hospital never said anything. We'll just keep trying." Sheldon said, sounding more confident than he felt.


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! :) Smut warning for this chapter…Again! You have been warned. Enjoy, and please review!**

**..**

Sheldon woke up to his alarm the next morning, and wandered into the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning Sheldon." Amy smiled sadly, seeing him enter the room.

"You're awake already?" He asked.

"I couldn't really sleep after…" She trailed off.

Sheldon frowned, concerned as he realised that Amy's eyes were red and puffy.

"Have you been crying?" He asked.

Amy cleared her throat. "Yes, Sheldon. I know it's silly because it's only our first try since the false alarm a few months ago, but... I've known people who got pregnant on the first try!"

"Were they actually trying, or was it from pure stupidity and lack of protection with a random man they picked up at a bar, slash new boyfriend…?" Sheldon asked.

"Harsh, Sheldon! But…A bit of both." Amy admitted.

He simply nodded. "I see…Well, I researched online when we were on the honeymoon, that night you were tired from all the swimming, and fell asleep early. Apparently, your subconscious has a lot to do with reproduction; if you're thinking about getting pregnant the whole time during coitus, it can affect your stress levels, which then affects performance and sometimes male ejaculation."

Amy just blinked at him. "I'm a neurobiologist; why did I not know that?!"

"So, do you think that could be a benefitting factor to our bad luck with conception?"

"Now that you mention it, it could be!"

"Well, while I'm at work, I can look into it some more and see if there's anything we can do."

"Thank you Sheldon. You're the best." Amy kissed him on the lips, which he returned.

"I do try." He replied, making his way to the bathroom to shower. "Oh, and Amy? When I mentioned the stress levels being a primary reason behind flawed performance, I was not referring to you. Your performance is outstanding!"

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Likewise!" She called back.

..

Sheldon peered around outside his office door to make sure nobody was around.

He had sent Alex on an errand, so he had to room to himself.

Closing his door, Sheldon returned to his seat and took a deep breath, before he typed; _How to conceive _into Google.

He scrolled down the results, and clicked on one.

"Hmm…This is interesting." He read the contents, and raised his eyebrows. "Ohhh boy!"

At that moment, the door burst open, and Sheldon leapt to his feet.

"Hey Coopew!"

"Hello Kripke; um, now's not a good time…"

"Why not? You got something you don't want me to see?"

"Yes, exactly! Now with all due respect, please leave."

"No way, I'm seeing this!" Kripke hurried to Sheldon's desk.

Sheldon closed the door again and darted across the room to minimise the screen, but was too late.

Kripke had seen it.

"Um, Coopew, why awe you wooking at sex positions?" He raised an eyebrow.

Sheldon closed his eyes. "Alright, look…If I tell you, will you swear to keep it to yourself?"

"Depends what it is…"

"Kripke!"

"Alwight, alwight, I'ww keep it secwet. So spiww…" Kripke sat on the edge of Sheldon's desk, arms folded.

Sheldon sighed. "Amy and I are trying to get pregnant."

Kripke nodded, and then grinned. "I'm not suwe you'd suit the whole baby bump thing, Coopew." He started laughing.

Sheldon frowned at him, clearly not understanding.

"Nevew mind…So you'we twying fow a kid? Good going Shewdon. I didn't think you wewe the baby type?" Kripke said.

"A lot has changed since I've been with Amy." Sheldon replied softly. "For one, we're friends now after years of hating each other!"

"Yeah, weww aftew you finawwy got some, you tuwned out to be a cool guy. Sex chiwws you out."

"That, it does!" Sheldon nodded.

"So…no wuck so faw then, I take it? With the baby thing?" Kripke asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "No. Amy and I were upset last night because we had another false alarm…She was still crying this morning. I felt…Well, awful."

"Why? It's not youw fauwt!"

"I know, but there's nothing I can do in those situations, and this is still new to me."

"Weww, those sex positions wiww hewp you! And also, twy not to think about getting pwegnant while youwe doing it. That can put you off."

"I know that one." Sheldon replied. "Is there anything else?"

"Not reawwy, Coopew. Just keep going, it'ww happen one day! If it takes, wike, a yeaw then go to the fewtiwity cwinic." Kripke shrugged.

"Alright. Thank you Barry." Sheldon gave a small smile.

"My pweasure. Oh, and do you have those notes I asked fow this mowning?"

Sheldon nodded, opening his desk drawer and handing Kripke the folder. "And that's legitimate. Not blank paper." Sheldon said.

"Good. Thanks buddy, see you water…Good wuck!" Kripke replied, walking out the door.

Sheldon sighed with relief, as he returned to looking up the sexual positions.

"Okay, let's see…Yes…Yes…No…'Doggy Style'? I hardly think so; we are not dogs!...Oh come on, who can possibly bend that way!?" He said to himself as he scrolled through.

One of them caught his eye, and he frowned, turning his head to the side to get a better look.

"Hmm…That's a definite yes!" He wrote them down on a piece of blank ruled paper.

"So…one, two and six…Meh, I'll throw four in there just in case." He muttered, writing them down.

He'd have fun trying these out later!

..

When Sheldon arrived home from work just after Amy, he caught up with her.

"Amy! I found the solution to our problem!" He grinned.

"I thought we had already established the subconscious thing? I'll try not to think about it." Amy replied.

"No, no…There are certain positions we can try, which can aid in conception!"

"And you looked these up at work?" Amy giggled.

"Yes…And I don't understand the laughter." Sheldon frowned.

"Did anyone catch you?"

"Only Kripke, but he won't say anything. In fact, he gave me some advice."

"Which was…?"

"That we carry on experimenting on our hypotheses, and if that fails after a year, we go to a fertility clinic."

Amy nodded. "That seems like a sensible idea."

"So…Shall we relax for a while before dinner, and then have coitus tonight?" Sheldon asked.

"You know what? I'm feeling pretty horny right now, so why not try it now?" Amy purred.

"Wow…Uh, alright." Sheldon blinked. "Let's get ready first, and meet in the bedroom in twenty minutes."

"Okay." Amy smiled, kissing Sheldon before retreating to the bathroom to wash and make herself up a little.

..

Twenty minutes later, Sheldon met Amy in the bedroom, where she was waiting in the black and pink negligee.

Sheldon swallowed when he caught sight of her.

This should be easy!

Amy pulled Sheldon down on top of her by his shirt, kissing him intensely.

As she ran her tongue over his lips, he mimicked her movement and their tongues lightly brushed each other.

Sheldon felt the tightness in his pants, and pulled away to consult his paper.

"Alright…So, shall we try this first one?" He asked, showing Amy the notes he had taken down.

Amy nodded, laying down on her back.

As Sheldon straddled her and pushed himself in, Amy lifted her hips up and tightened her legs around Sheldon's middle.

He pumped himself in and out of her, and felt an immense feeling of euphoria.

Amy had never done this position with him before, and she was enjoying every second of it; she had never felt such a strong climax in her life as she felt his entire length inside her, and retracting in and out, deeply and strongly.

Sheldon didn't even need to go faster, as Amy moaned loudly. "Oh God, Sheldon…Go harder."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He had never heard this from Amy before! He must be doing it right!

Sheldon obliged, and pushed himself harder and deeper, feeling himself getting closer and closer as Amy enveloped him entirely.

Upon feeling Amy release more than she ever had before, he lost control, leaning down to kiss her passionately, as he moaned against her mouth, finally letting himself come inside her.

Sheldon panted for breath as all the euphoria he felt, pumped out of him.

Amy kept her legs around his waist, as he leaned down to kiss her again.

"If only I had known about this position before." Sheldon breathed.

"You and me both." Amy replied, breathlessly. "That was…"

"Fascinating?" Sheldon offered.

"Yep." Amy agreed, too tired to move or speak too much.

She placed her hands on the back of his head, and pulled him down for a long kiss.

When she let him go, she said: "You're sweating."

"I know. Not that I am at all surprised." Sheldon replied.

They continued to kiss for a few more minutes, until Sheldon slowly pulled out.

"Do you feel anything…You know…Coming out?" He asked, embarrassed.

Amy concentrated. "No." She replied, finally. "Just the obvious."

"Good. Well…If you don't mind, I will go and clean up now." Sheldon said.

"Go ahead. I've got another five minutes of laying like this." Amy shrugged.

"Oh, another thing…If you want to turn around and rest your feet on the wall so that you can balance and keep your hips in the air, I wouldn't object to it." Sheldon suggested.

"You wouldn't object to me putting my feet on the wall?" Amy frowned.

"No. As long as you are wearing socks, and they are clean."

"I am…Thank you Sheldon." Amy smiled.

He smiled back, retreating to the bathroom sink.

As he washed himself down, he couldn't help but smile to himself about Amy's reaction to his performance.

Well, as he always said, he excelled at so many things!

Returning to the bedroom, he caught Amy with her feet against the wall above his headboard; her hips were at a good angle.

_Her hips…_

Sheldon loved his wife's body, but he especially liked her hips.

It was strange to think that he of all people, loved someone's body so much, but he did!

As he stared at her now, he couldn't help but feel slightly aroused again.

He wasn't even sure why!

Amy turned her head and smiled as he walked into the room, covering his pant area to hide the evidence of yet another erection.

_You've just had intercourse, you horndog! Think about trains…Trains going into tunnels, just like you went into…Okay, stop it! Howard's mother._

As the image of Howard's mother entered Sheldon's head, he immediately lost any arousal he had just had, and made a face.

Amy frowned slightly, upon seeing this expression, so Sheldon quickly smiled back.

"Sorry…I got aroused again and had to think of something unpleasant to get rid of it." He confessed.

"Understood. Can I move yet?" Amy asked.

Sheldon looked at his watch. "Yes. Can I just say, I very much enjoyed that."

"I could tell!" Amy grinned. "As did I."

"And _I _could tell." Sheldon replied, as he kissed her on the lips.

"I'm going to go wash up too." Amy announced. "Who knows? Maybe we were lucky this time?"


	46. Chapter 46

Sheldon and Amy were cleaning the apartment a little later that evening, ready for their friends to come over.

Leonard had come home late, and then gone to meet Penny from work.

"Amy?" Sheldon spoke up.

"Mm?"

"Where was all the blood?"

Amy frowned. "If you're talking about the steak Sheldon, I cooked it. It's medium-well. No blood."

"No, no…I meant when we…You said you had your period?"

"I do."

"Then should you not have bled more?"

Amy sighed. "Do you know nothing about the female body?"

"Clearly not as much as I thought I did if I'm missing something?" Sheldon replied.

"In a woman's monthly cycle, the first day is always lighter than the rest of the week. That and I cleaned up any traces before we got down to business." Amy explained.

"Oh."

"Well, you didn't say no to sleeping with me!"

"Of course I wouldn't! And FYI, we didn't sleep…We had sex!" Sheldon frowned.

Amy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean!" She snapped.

"Ah. Perhaps you are on your menses..."

Amy glared at him, and he moved to the couch to avoid conflict.

"Hold on…Would it still have worked? Conception, I mean?" He asked after a few moments.

"I thought we agreed not to think about it, and we do it as and when we please, so that we limit stress factors, which will _then_ lead to pregnancy?" Amy replied, feeling irritated.

"True. Also, I'm sensing that you're…Annoyed?" Sheldon asked.

"No, no…I'm just stressed."

Sheldon widened his eyes. "Amy, you can't be stressed. It's not good for the possible, could-be baby that we may or may not have just conceived."

Amy frowned at him. "Just how _did _you get an IQ of 187?"

Sheldon gave her a withering look. "I don't want to argue with you. We're just married and I love you, so I am going to walk away from this conversation." Sheldon said, sensibly.

He blinked.

_Where did that come from!?_

That was the second time in two weeks that he had acted sensibly! What was going on?

As he walked into the bedroom for some breathing space, he blew a raspberry at Amy for good measure.

Amy noticed this and burst into giggles.

..

"Knock knock!" Amy called out from outside the bedroom door.

When Sheldon failed to reply, she let herself in.

"Sheldon, I'm sorry for snapping at you." She said, putting on what she hoped was a cute, mock-sad face.

Sheldon was sitting on the bed with one of his comic books, reading silently.

"Um…Sheldon?"

"I'm ignoring you." He said, simply.

"Alright. But you know it's social convention to accept an apology when someone gives it to you." Amy replied.

At this, Sheldon looked up. "Curses. Fine, I accept your apology." He answered, putting his comic book down on the bedside table.

Amy grinned and sat next to Sheldon on the bed.

"The raspberry was a nice touch." She smirked, unable to stop the bubble of laughter she was holding in.

"One of my best." He nodded, smiling. "Sorry if I annoyed you."

"No, I just have a short fuse at these times of the month." Amy shrugged. "The slightest thing annoys me, ever since I came off the pill."

"Well, you won't get that when you're pregnant, thank goodness." Sheldon responded, taking Amy's hand.

Amy snorted. "You're kidding right! Sheldon, surely you know that pregnant women's hormones are all over the place? My mood swings might be worse, you never know."

Sheldon stared at her, mildly horrified. "Oh…Great."

"Has that put you off?" She asked sadly.

"No…I'm just thinking about defensive precautions I should take in those circumstances. Like wearing a cup at all times…" Sheldon replied.

Amy laughed. "You're funnier than people give you credit for."

"So…Do you think it worked? I mean _can_ women get pregnant during their menses?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course…Women can get pregnant anytime. It's just harder to get pregnant during a menstrual period, that's all, but it's not totally impossible. Your guys can still swim, and there's still eggs in there!"

"Good point." Sheldon replied.

"Yep. Jennifer at the lab; she got pregnant with both of her kids, whilst she was on hers!"

"Twins?"

"No…Two years apart! And Madeline got pregnant with her little boy when she was on, too!"

"On what?"

"…Her period."

"Ohh!" Sheldon nodded. "Can we switch the topic of conversation please? This is making me uncomfortable…Now I know how Penny felt." Sheldon muttered.

"Okay. Well, our friends will be here soon. We should get the food ready." Amy replied, getting to her feet.

"It was nice of you to cook for us tonight." Sheldon responded, following Amy into the living room.

As Amy reached the kitchen, Sheldon spontaneously slipped his arms around her and hugged her.

"What was that for?" Amy asked, quietly.

Sheldon shrugged. "Because I love you. Does it need a reason?"

"No, of course not." Amy grinned, hugging him back. "I really hope this all works out for us." She sighed.

Sheldon slipped a hand down to Amy's stomach. "Likewise."

..

"For God's sake, Leonard! Just leave it alone!"

It was over a fortnight later, and Sheldon and Amy turned their heads to see Penny storming out of Leonard's room and through the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Sheldon shook his head. "Clearly Penny is suffering with her own menses." He muttered.

Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm going to see if she's okay."

"Um, no I wouldn't. Angry Penny is likely to maul you to death." Sheldon warned.

"I don't care. She's my best friend. See you in a minute." Amy kissed Sheldon on the lips and walked over to Penny's apartment, gingerly knocking on the door.

"GO AWAY LEONARD!" Penny yelled.

"It's Amy."

Penny instantly answered the door. "Sorry Ames, come in. What's up?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay." Amy replied, sitting on a bar stool as Penny poured some wine.

"I'm fine…I'm such a bitch to Leonard sometimes, he doesn't deserve me." Penny sighed, her head in her hands.

"No, you're just in a bad mood. What happened?" Amy coaxed.

"Ugh. Some guy I went out with once hit on me last night, and he still won't let it go." Penny sighed. "He keeps thinking I'm going to cheat on him!"

Amy frowned. "But you wouldn't; you love Leonard."

"That's exactly what I said." Penny complained, downing her wine. "Sorry, Amy, do you want some?"

Without thinking, Amy accepted. "Yes please."

Penny poured her a glass and Amy took it gratefully.

"I do think you need to apologise for yelling at him and talk it out properly though." Amy said, taking a swig of wine.

"I know, I know…I feel awful for yelling at him, but I have a short fuse." Penny replied.

"Hmm…Well, I'll stay in the room if you want, so I can hold you back." Amy offered.

Penny smiled. "That's very sweet. But it's okay…I'm a big girl now…Apparently." She got to her feet and she and Amy both ventured out the door.

..

"…So I keep thinking she's going to cheat on me with some other, better-looking guy. Stupid right?" Leonard sighed, turning to face his roommate.

"Well…Not necessarily; in the bird world, female birds always choose the most attractive mate that they can. That's why the male birds are always more colourful!" Sheldon replied.

Leonard frowned. "Remind me why I asked for your advice again?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I was joking…Leonard, I know I'm no expert on relationships, but clearly Penny has developed romantic feelings of love towards you, much like I have with Amy. Penny won't leave you, and you have to trust her. If she was going to cheat, she would have done it by now."

Leonard blinked. "Wow…Th-thank you Sheldon." He couldn't believe his ears.

Sheldon shrugged. "I think you should apologise to her." He said.

"You know what? You're right. Thank you Sheldon, you really helped." Leonard grinned.

He got to his feet, and opened the door to walk into the hallway, almost colliding with Penny and Amy.

"Oh, uh…Hi." He stammered.

"Hey." Penny smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry for what I said!" They both blurted out at the same time.

"Penny, I know you love me, and if you were going to cheat, you would have by now."

"Leonard I'm sorry for yelling at you. I have a really short temper, but I can understand your insecurity, and I'm sorry."

The two of them smiled at each other.

"We'll leave you two alone." Sheldon said, taking Amy's hand and leading her inside.

He shut the door, and turned to Amy. "You wouldn't think I'd cheat on you, would you?"

"Of course not, I trust you completely." Amy replied.

Sheldon nodded, and leaned in to kiss her.

Amy responded to the kiss, but then felt her stomach churn.

She pulled away, and ran to the bathroom.

Sheldon heard her vomiting, and ran to see if she was okay.

Amy flushed the toilet and cleaned her mouth out.

"Amy, are you alright? Are you sick? Should I call someone?"

"That was weird." She frowned. "I'm so sorry Sheldon, that came out of nowhere. I feel fine now."

"Well, I did smell wine on you…Maybe you drank too much?" Sheldon suggested. "And in the middle of the day, Amy!"

"I had one glass…I didn't even finish it."

Sheldon frowned. "Was the wine off?"

"No. Penny got it from the fridge and opened it in front of me; it hadn't been opened yet."

"Maybe it reacted with the cork?"

"It was a screw lid." Amy answered, swirling mouthwash round her mouth.

"Oh…Well, do you feel feverish? Nauseated again? Do you have a sickness bug?" Sheldon persisted.

"Nope. None of those things. I feel fine now." Amy frowned. "But I do feel tired and a bit achey in my stomach, so I might go and lie down…Do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight so that you don't catch anything?"

Sheldon opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. "No…Sleep with me tonight. I'll look after you."

Amy looked at him. "Are you sure? Because…"

"I'm sure." Sheldon cut in, nodding firmly. "I want to take care of you today. Go and lie down, I'll be with you in a moment."

Amy went to change into her night clothes and lie on the bed.

Sheldon returned with a cold, wet rag, Vapo-Rub, two bottles of cold water and a bucket.

"Sheldon, I won't need the bucket. I don't feel sick anymore." Amy said, softly.

"Over the course of the day, you might get nauseous again, so I'll leave it here, just in case." He replied.

He spread an old towel over Amy's half of the bed, just in case, and opened the window a little.

He took the lid off the Vapo-Rub pot and carefully rubbed it into Amy's chest and neck.

"You know…I like the rubbing a lot!" Amy purred. "Perhaps we could…"

"Amy, as long as you're vomiting, coitus is off the table. Sorry." Sheldon replied.

"Fair enough." She nodded, enjoying the tingling sensation seeping through her skin. "Can I at least have a kiss?"

Sheldon shifted uncomfortably. He kissed Amy on the forehead. "Is that okay?"

"Thank you." Amy smiled. "I really do feel better now though."

"I appreciate your honesty this time, but I'd like to continue taking care of you." Her husband replied. "So what made you ill? We both had the same thing for dinner last night, and breakfast this morning, and I'm fine so it can't be anything you ate."

"I don't know." Amy frowned, "I truthfully don't know. Could you stroke my stomach please? It's sore."

"Of course. Being sick always hurts my stomach too." Sheldon answered, lowering his hand to rub Amy's stomach.

He recoiled almost instantly.

"What? Do I have something on my skin?" Amy panicked, leaning up to take a look.

"No. But boy, you've gained some muscles in your abdomen! I didn't know you worked out? Are you one of these women who secretly work out when I'm not looking?"

Amy stared at him like he was crazy. "Sheldon…Do I _look _like the sort of girl who works out?!"

"Oh come on, those abs are rock-hard!"

"Sheldon…I'm telling you, I don't work out."

"Well then…How did you get so muscular? Maybe it's from all the coitus! I have to see them." He lifted the bottom of her shirt.

"Weird…I see nothing. Tense your stomach muscles."

"I am, but Sheldon, I have basically no muscles in my body! I never really exercise."

"Maybe it's an alien parasite!" Sheldon gasped.

"Where the hell would I have picked up one of those!?" Amy snorted.

Sheldon frowned at her, confused. "Well…if it's not muscle or an alien parasite…Then what is it?"

..

**A/N: The evil cliffhanger of doom has returned! ;) Sorry about that. Thanks for reading! Shall update shortly…**


	47. Chapter 47

Amy hadn't spoken in a few minutes, as she frowned, deep in thought.

Sheldon licked his lips, feeling nervous. "Amy…" He prompted quietly, "What else could be causing this?"

She blinked and threw herself out of bed. "It must just be where I am sick Sheldon. See? It's gone."

He stood up right in front of her, placing his hand on her stomach again. "No it hasn't."

Amy panicked. "I can't be…I mean, just over two weeks ago, the pregnancy test was negative. Surely it can't happen that quickly!"

"You said it can take as little as two weeks for symptoms to show." Sheldon reminded her. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't sickness one of those symptoms?"

"Sickness is a symptom of many things Sheldon."

"I don't understand, I thought you wanted this?" Sheldon asked, sadly.

"No, I do. I really, really do…I just thought that I would at least know if I was going to be pregnant before symptoms started showing!" Amy replied. "What if I am? Wouldn't that be great!?"

"It certainly would! But before we get our hopes up, I took the liberty of buying some of these last week…" Sheldon opened a drawer in the unit, where there were loads of boxes containing pregnancy tests.

"Oh my God!" Amy exclaimed when she saw just how many boxes were in there.

"Well, I figured we might need a lot, since we were trying…" Sheldon shrugged.

"I'll be right back!" Amy grinned, shutting herself in the bathroom.

Minutes later, she returned, placing the cap firmly on the end of the stick in her hand.

"Three minutes." She said.

Sheldon nodded, taking a deep breath.

Thoughts consumed his mind; he couldn't wait to have a child.

It was strange; he wanted to be a father! He wanted to be a better one than his own father had been, and he wanted to teach his child about the wonders of the universe, and…

"It's negative."

Amy's voice brought him crashing back down to earth, and he shook his head as if to shake off the memories.

"What?"

"Negative…One line." Amy sniffed. "I don't care if we're supposed to wait a year. I'm desperate to know. I'm going to a fertility clinic as soon as they have a space available."

"But…" Sheldon tried, but Amy had already wandered over to the phone, picking it up and flicking through the phone book for the number she needed.

Punching out the number, she waited as it dialled.

"Hello, my name is Amy Cooper. I was wondering when you next have an appointment for my husband and me to come down for fertility testing…Really? Brilliant, thank you! See you then, goodbye." She hung up.

"Tomorrow at two. They had a cancellation. I'll call into work." Amy said, dialling the number for UCLA.

..

The following day, Amy and Sheldon sat in the waiting room.

Amy was flicking through a magazine, while Sheldon nervously looked around, his eyes darting this way and that.

He kept his hands in his lap.

Amy noticed him twitching and smiled at him. "It's not that kind of clinic…its sexual health and family planning."

"Yes, but what if one of these people is here regarding a sexually-transmitted disease?" Sheldon whispered, glancing nervously at a creepy-looking bearded man who was flicking through a magazine on the far side of the room.

Amy followed his gaze and rolled her eyes. "One; don't be so judgmental, and two; I highly doubt it."

"Fine. Are you feeling better now?" Sheldon asked.

Amy had been ill again that morning, but had been fine after her episode the day before, much to their confusion.

"Much better. Thank you." Amy nodded.

"I was sceptical about you coming here if you are harbouring an illness, if you remember…And by the way, I don't understand; I haven't caught whatever it is yet." Sheldon frowned.

"Maybe that's because you've been hopped up on all the pills and potions you keep in the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom drawers." Amy replied, sarcastically.

"Now who's being judgmental?" Sheldon whispered.

"Amy and Sheldon Cooper?" Someone called out.

They both looked up.

A nurse stood by one of the hallways. "We're ready for you now."

Amy and Sheldon got to their feet and followed her down the hallway.

"Okay, Dr Cooper, I need you to make a deposit in this cup…" The nurse handed Sheldon a plastic cup with a lid, and pointed to a door behind him.

"What kind? Blood…Urine?" Sheldon asked.

"Uh…A sperm deposit." The nurse replied, frowning.

Sheldon's eyes flew wide. "Oh…Um, well you see I can only get myself going if I am having…You know what…With Amy."

"Well, you're going to have to do it yourself this time. We need Amy for blood tests."

"Ah, well I need to be there for her to hold her hand if you're drawing her blood."

The nurse made an irritated face. "Look, we're on a tight schedule, Dr Cooper. Do your business in that cup and meet in this consulting room afterwards, or leave and don't come back."

Amy noticed a flash of defiance across Sheldon's face and jumped in. "Sheldon, please just try…Just think about me if that's what gets your motor running, but _please._" Amy pleaded.

"Alright, fine. But this is humiliating." He took the cup and entered the door behind him, locking it once inside.

He fumbled for the light switch, and flinched when he saw porn magazines sprawled across a table.

"No thank you!" He grimaced.

He turned around and looked at the chair in the room. "Ugh, God knows if anyone has shot their load over you, but I'm not taking any chances." He pulled a few paper towels from the dispenser and placed them on the seat, before sitting down.

He took a deep breath and unbuttoned his pants.

Even though he was alone, he felt self-conscious.

_There's nobody here, and the door's locked. Just do it._

He sighed, closing his eyes.

Thinking about Amy was easy; his eidetic memory helped a lot.

Sheldon thought back to all the times that he and Amy had had sex, and as he imagined them in perfect detail, he felt a stirring in his trouser region.

_This should be easier than I thought!_

..

Sheldon entered the consultation room, and Amy looked round at him.

"Done." He muttered, embarrassed.

"Put it on that tray up there, and someone will be along shortly to take it to the lab." The nurse smiled.

Sheldon placed the cup on the tray next to a tube containing a small amount of blood.

The tray had their names written on it.

"Did it hurt?" Sheldon asked, taking a seat next to Amy.

"The blood test? Yeah…That's why I was given this." Amy held up a can of Coke. "Keep my sugar levels up and stop me from passing out."

Sheldon nodded.

"Okay, so I need to ask you both for some background history…" The nurse began, consulting her form. "So, to your knowledge, has anyone in your family had any trouble conceiving for the last three generations?"

"No." Amy and Sheldon replied.

"Twins run in my family." Sheldon piped up. "I'm a twin."

"And I'm an only child, but that was by choice." Amy added.

The nurse nodded. "Okay…Have either of you had any abdominal or genital surgery in recent years?"

"No." Came both replies.

"Although…I was attacked last year; a guy was hired by some nutjob lady to beat me up and leave me for dead. Would that affect things?" Amy asked, nervously.

"Was any damage done to your abdominals or reproductive system?"

"No…I'm sure the hospital would have told me if it had, right?"

"Exactly. So no, that wouldn't affect things…And, I'm sorry to hear about that. Is everything okay now? Did they catch him?" The nurse enquired, gently.

"Oh yes. Both parties were imprisoned." Sheldon answered.

"Good." The nurse smiled. "Also, how long have you been trying to conceive?"

Amy and Sheldon exchanged a guilty look.

"A year." Amy lied, looking pleadingly at Sheldon, silently begging him not to tell the truth.

Sheldon winked at her. He understood.

The nurse continued to ask some more questions, and when she was finished, she seemed satisfied.

"Now, we will just run a quick ultrasound scan to take some measurements of the uterus and check for any ovarian damage or problems. If you'd like to slide onto the bed, Mrs Cooper?" The nurse gestured to the bed, and Amy promptly hoisted herself up.

Sheldon turned around in his seat.

The nurse squeezed some gel on to Amy's stomach, making her shriek with the shock.

"That's cold!"

"Yeah, well if you want a kid, you'll have to get used to that." The nurse laughed, rolling the wand over Amy's stomach, writing down measurements.

"Okay…The ovaries are fine, no visible damage or complication. Now let me just check the measurements of your uterus, and we can…Oh!"

Amy and Sheldon whipped their heads round in a panic.

Sheldon rushed to Amy's side. "What is it? What's the damage?" He asked.

"None…You see this little thing, right here?" The nurse stammered, pointing to the monitor.

"Yes?" Amy asked.

"Please tell me that's not a tumour." Sheldon whispered.

"That's not a tumour…." The nurse replied.

"Then what is it?"

The nurse grinned at them both. "Amy, you're already pregnant!"

Sheldon's mouth fell open, and his eyes flew wide.

"But the test I took yesterday said negative!" Amy protested. "Unless I have unknowingly miscarried, this must be a mistake…I had a period two weeks ago."

"Was it heavy?"

"Well no…It was barely anything to be honest, just spotting and a light flow I guess…Not my usual." Amy replied. "And I was unusually late, too, come to think of it."

"That's perfectly normal. It depends where you were in your cycle when the baby was conceived. This embryo is at least four weeks along."

"We were on our honeymoon just over a month ago." Sheldon replied. "But…We had coitus every night so it will be hard to pinpoint when it was conceived."

"Hang on…I can't be pregnant. The test said negative." Amy intervened. "They all did."

"They sometimes do; it's a faulty reading, or if you took one a few weeks ago, it may not have detected it yet. This embryo is looking healthy and is still growing." The nurse insisted.

She moved the wand back to show where the embryo was forming, and zoomed in on the screen.

"There you go, you can just see it." She smiled.

Amy and Sheldon peered closer.

Now Amy could see it, a grin lit up her entire face. "So…We've been trying all this time, and we didn't even have to?"

"Looks like it!" The nurse grinned. "Congratulations! Because we're a family clinic, I can assign you to one of our midwives if you'd like?"

Amy nodded. "Yes…Please!" She grinned up at Sheldon, who looked completely shell-shocked still.

Once the exchange of pamphlets and everything was complete, Amy and Sheldon left the clinic with the promise of a midwife to call within the next week.

"I can't believe it!" Amy cried as they walked out of the doors and to the parking lot. "I also can't believe how calm you're being!" She laughed.

"We should inform our friends and families." Sheldon said, still calm. "Perhaps we could tell our close circle of friends over dinner tonight?"

"Sure. So we're inviting them over, or are we eating out?" Amy asked.

"Let's invite them over." Sheldon replied.

"Okay…But what should we have for dinner? Thai, Pizza, Chinese, Indian, something new?...Sheldon?" Amy looked at Sheldon, who was now twitching. "Um…Sheldon?"

He turned to her and grinned. "Oh who cares? I'M GOING TO BE A DADDY!" He cried, impulsively flinging his arms around a very surprised-looking Amy.

The surprise wore off, and Amy happily hugged him back in the middle of the busy parking lot, gaining cheers from the strangers around them.


	48. Chapter 48

That evening, everyone sat in 4A, as Sheldon and Leonard passed around plates and everyone helped themselves to Chinese food.

"Sheldon, are you feeling okay? Only you're actually allowing us to have the food out on the table family style." Howard asked.

Sheldon looked at Amy. "Family style." He smiled, "what a good use of words!"

Amy grinned back.

Howard frowned. "Oookay…Am I missing something here?...Oh God, did you murder a family?"

Sheldon gave him a withering look. "No. Obviously not."

Everyone frowned in confusion.

"So, what's this good news that you had to tell us all?" Leonard asked.

"I'm pregnant!" Amy cried, unable to keep her excitement in.

The room was stunned into silence and surprised stares.

"I'm going to be a daddy!" Sheldon added.

Penny and Bernadette were the first ones to break the silence, squealing excitedly and rushing over to hug Amy.

"Congratulations!" They said in unison.

"Wow, congratulations!" Everyone else added excitedly.

Sheldon frowned with slight jealousy. "Excuse me…I'm the one who planted the metaphorical seed, don't I get a hug?"

"You hate hugs." Penn replied, raising an eyebrow.

Sheldon huffed and was about to sit back down, when Penny changed her mind.

"Oh what the hell, come here, Moonpie!"

Sheldon didn't care about the nickname for once, as he allowed Penny and Bernadette to hug him.

"Congratulations to you too Sheldon, and uh…good job." Penny winked.

Sheldon flushed bright pink and sat back down.

"How far along are you, Amy?" Raj asked.

"About a month, well, four weeks." She replied, taking a bite of her dumpling.

"Wow…So it was on the honeymoon?" Bernadette beamed. "How romantic!"

Amy rolled her eyes skyward, thoughtfully. "Hmm, well it was either that or when we did it on the plane home."

Everyone instantly choked on their food.

"I'm sorry, what?" Penny questioned.

"That's maybe not so romantic." Bernadette breathed.

"Amy and I had coitus on the plane home." Sheldon repeated.

"In front of everyone!?" Howard asked. "Wow…Even I haven't done that yet!"

"Oh no…In the airplane lavatory." Sheldon replied.

Everyone looked at him.

"Really? That's kind of…Um…Well, icky." Penny grimaced.

"It was first class and perfectly sanitary…Plus we were horny as hell." Sheldon responded.

Everyone sniggered at this.

It was very un-Sheldon-like for him to say that.

"So…is there any way of finding out on which night the baby was conceived?" Leonard asked.

"I don't think so." Amy shook her head.

"Actually, there is." Sheldon replied. "At the scan, the nurse said you were exactly four weeks, going by the measurements and the development of the embryo. So, because it takes 7-10 days for the egg to be fertilised, and our wedding night was exactly five weeks ago today, that means it was conceived on our wedding night, seeing as the last time we engaged in coitus before the wedding was over a week before." Sheldon concluded.

"Awwww!" The entire room said.

"But if you wanted your baby to be rock 'n' roll, you could tell him or her that they were conceived on the airplane!" Howard joked.

His comment was met with weird looks from everyone, so he just silently looked back down to his plate of food.

..

The next afternoon, Amy was relaxing in the living room, reading a magazine after a busy day at work.

Sheldon walked in from his own busy day at work and sat next to her, in his spot.

Kissing her on the lips, he snaked an arm around her.

"I have something for you." He smiled.

Amy looked up at him. "What's that?"

Sheldon rummaged in his bag and brought out a thin booklet, handing it to Amy.

She frowned. "The Pregnancy Agreement? Really?" She sighed, flicking through the pages.

"I think you'll find the last page is the best one." Sheldon answered.

Amy glared at him, flicking through the pages until she reached the last one.

In large, bold letters it simply said: 'Bazinga!'

Amy couldn't help but laugh. "I thought you were serious about the agreement for a minute."

"Nope, you fell victim to one of my classic practical jokes!" Sheldon replied, doing his usual breathy laugh.

Amy shook her head, but her grin betrayed her.

"So you didn't really get me anything?" She joked.

"Actually I did…" Sheldon rummaged through his satchel again and presented a tiny little sleepsuit with elements from the periodic table spelling out 'BaBY Gee-K'.

"That's adorable!" Amy laughed.

"I know…And look! It has Barium, Boron, Yttrium…And then Germanium, an electron and Potassium." Sheldon pointed to each coloured square. "Clever isn't it?"

"Very…And cute!" Amy grinned. "Thank you Sheldon. But, what if something happens? I'm only a month gone."

"Well, I did some research at work, and we have to take extra care of you now. So no more crazy alcohol-filled nights with Penny, healthier food, and apparently no eggs, although I would argue that they're a great source of protein but the website said something about being careful in case you eat a bad egg, and it's harmful to the baby…"

"Sheldon…Relax. It's fine, I'll be okay." Amy reassured. "I just meant what if I miscarry? It's still early."

"Okay…Well, that's why I'm putting these precautions into place. To prevent it from happening. Oh, and no heavy lifting or strenuous exercise." Sheldon added.

"Okay. Got it." Amy laughed, kissing Sheldon passionately to stop him from saying anything else.

He allowed her to stop him from talking, and held her waist while he kissed her back, running his tongue lightly along hers.

"So…Did the website say anything about not having any more sex?" Amy asked.

"No, actually, it said it was healthy." Sheldon replied.

"Well…Guess who's horny?" Amy purred.

"Um…You? And judging by the feeling that is currently causing a tightening in my pants…Me?" Sheldon replied.

Amy looked down at his trouser-region and smiled appreciatively, before averting her eyes back to his and narrowing them seductively.

Sheldon swallowed. "You know…In the interest of health, let me help you with that." He said, grabbing Amy's hand and leading her into the bedroom.

..

The couple lay on the bed, with Sheldon cuddling Amy close to him.

They were both panting after what turned out to be a very steamy lovemaking session.

"So…Us having coitus isn't creepy or icky now that you're pregnant, right?" Sheldon asked.

Amy frowned. "It wasn't until you mentioned it."

"Oh…Sorry."

"It's fine. It's not really a baby yet anyway; it's not even a foetus yet either, just a mass of cells." Amy shrugged. "Plus we've still been having sex anyway."

"Good point. Is there a point during the pregnancy that we should stop having intercourse?" Sheldon asked.

"I'd imagine it would be at around 8 or 9 months." Amy replied.

"Hmm a whole month or two without sex…That will be very difficult to keep up." Sheldon muttered.

Amy laughed. "It's strange…Just over a year ago, you wouldn't be seen dead touching or kissing anyone, let alone having sex."

"Yes, well that was until your birthday when I bathed and massaged you…I realised what I was missing out on and something inside me clicked." Sheldon answered. "And FYI, you're not just anyone."

This made Amy smile. "Awww!" She leaned in to kiss him.

"So…Amy…About the whole morning sickness thing…" Sheldon said, in between kisses, "Um, we need to talk about that."

Amy pulled away. "You really want to talk about vomit right now?"

"I don't _want _to, but we do need to clear a few things up; one being are you sure I can't contract the symptoms from you?" Sheldon asked.

Amy chuckled. "It's not possible Sheldon. It's the baby making me sick. And it's only in the mornings, so I will not kiss you until after lunch, and I will wash my mouth out with mouthwash until I find a medication that keeps the sickness at bay."

"Thank you Amy." Sheldon smiled, planting a kiss on her lips. He allowed his hand to move down to her stomach and kept it there, lovingly cradling what would one day be a baby bump.

..

Fortunately for Amy, she was prescribed some anti-morning-sickness pills the next day, and went to work an hour later than usual.

As she stood in her lab, tying her hair up and pulling on her lab coat, she took a deep breath and smiled.

She felt fresh and healthy today, and couldn't wait to get to work in the primate lab.

Grabbing her clipboard and pen, she all but skipped to the primate lab to begin her work.

Her colleagues left her to it; today she was testing antidepressants on the monkeys.

One small monkey caught her eye and put its hand through the cage, reaching out to her.

"Hello there." She took its hand, and something inside her felt wrong.

_What was she doing?_

"Oh God, I can't test on you, you're only a baby!" She whispered, bursting into tears.

"Dr Fow…Sorry, Cooper. What's the matter?" One of her colleagues asked, hearing her sobs and hurrying into the room.

"I'm sorry Wanda." Amy replied, "I don't know what came over me. I can't do this; one of the primates is only a baby. I can't test medicine on him!" Amy cried again.

"But you've done it before…" Wanda replied.

"I know, and I'm a sick, evil human being!" Amy threw down her clipboard and ran from the lab.

Wanda frowned and followed Amy to her private lab, seeing the neurobiologist slumped at her computer desk.

Closing the door, Wanda walked over and put a comforting hand on Amy's shoulder. "What's really the problem, Dr Cooper?" She asked softly.

"Well…I just found out I'm pregnant, and the thought of hurting a baby _anything _just upset me. I don't know why…I felt really emotional. Like, how would I feel if someone tested the effects of antidepressants on my baby?" Amy wept.

Wanda nodded. "Understood…Would you like to change your field of study Dr Cooper? If that would make things easier on you…I mean you have your cadaver brain study, but you need something else."

"Yes please, that would be great." Amy nodded, wiping the tears from under her eyes.

"Come on; let's go and explain to the department head, I'm sure she'll understand." Wanda coaxed gently, her arm around Amy's shoulders as she led her out of the door.

"Thank you Wanda. I feel so stupid." Amy said, meekly.

"You're not stupid; it's natural. You obviously have a maternal instinct kicking in right now, and the hormones will have something to do with it, I should imagine." Wanda smiled. "And congratulations, by the way! How far along are you?"

"Only a month. Well, a month and two days." Amy replied.

"Wow! So early stages then. I'm happy for you." Wanda smiled.

They stopped outside the office for the Head of Neurobiology, and Amy took a deep breath.

"Ready Amy?" Wanda asked.

Amy nodded. "Ready."

They knocked on the door and went inside.

..

**Thank you for the reviews! :) So glad it got a positive response! I worked really hard researching all of that fertility clinic and pregnancy stuff! :) **


	49. Chapter 49

When Amy arrived home, she almost collided with Leonard.

"Oh, sorry Leonard." She muttered.

"Don't worry about it; what's wrong? You seem down." Leonard asked, dropping the keys in the bowl.

"Just work stuff." Amy replied. "I won't bore you with it."

"Hey, you're my friend and Sheldon's wife. You can always talk to me." Leonard insisted.

Amy looked around. "Where _is _Sheldon?"

"Oh he and Penny went shopping."

Amy frowned, and felt a stab of jealousy. "Oh."

Leonard looked at her. "I know…Sheldon shopping!"

_Penny wouldn't do that to me; she's my best friend. And Sheldon wouldn't because he's my husband._

Amy shrugged it off.

"So did you want to talk about what happened?" Leonard asked.

Amy sat next to him on the couch and took a breath. "Well I was in the primate lab at work, and there was this little monkey. He wasn't even adolescent yet, and it just upset me that this little baby monkey was going to have antidepressants tested on him…I started crying…He was just a little baby!" Amy burst into tears again.

Leonard put his arm around her comfortingly. "I'm sorry Amy…I guess those feelings are all part of your pregnancy hormones."

"Well no, I mean, humans are primates too aren't we? I could walk away from there, but that poor baby monkey can't and neither can his mom; she's probably screaming at us to let her baby go. I know I would if I was her. I just felt so awful. What if that was my child?" Amy sobbed.

Leonard nodded. "Did you say anything?"

"I got moved into a different department, and the baby and his mother got removed from the testing area and taken to the local zoo." Amy answered. "From now on, they're only using post-adolescent males so that they don't get babies and mothers again."

"Well, that's great! Your actions did a great thing today Amy!" Leonard grinned reassuringly, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

At that moment, the door opened and Sheldon and Penny walked in, laughing between them.

Amy glared at him, and he noticed her sitting on the couch.

"Leonard, please stop manhandling my woman." Sheldon said.

"I'm comforting her; she's upset." Leonard protested.

"Don't talk as if I'm not here! And you can talk, Sheldon! You went out shopping with another woman!" Amy snapped. "And you look very happy about it!"

Penny blinked. "Ames, it's okay. He only needed my advice."

Amy huffed.

"Um…I'm going to go back to my apartment then…Leonard, you coming?" Penny said, turning around.

Leonard hurried after his girlfriend and shut the door behind him.

Sheldon stood staring at Amy sadly. "Are you insinuating that I was cheating on you with Penny?"

Amy shut her eyes. "No…I don't know." She placed her hands over her eyes. "You went shopping with her; you hate shopping! Not to mention how cosy you looked when you walked in."

"We were not cosy! And that's pretty rich coming from you; allowing Leonard, my best friend and roommate, to fondle you."

"He was not _fondling _me, Sheldon! For God's sake! I had a horrible time at work and he was comforting me." Amy sighed.

Sheldon relaxed and sat next to her, wondering if he should ask her to move from his spot.

He decided against it.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

Amy repeated what she had told Leonard, and the tears started to flow again.

"Oh God, I keep crying when I talk about it. I'm such an idiot!"

"No you're not an idiot! Was it a maternal or hormonal reaction?" Sheldon asked, sliding his arms around her waist.

"Both, I think. I didn't think the mood swings would start until I was further along." Amy responded.

Sheldon shrugged. "Obviously I'm no expert on that, but I think it depends on the woman."

Amy nodded.

Sheldon looked down at the bag he had brought in. "I really wasn't with Penny in the way that you thought I was. I can only just tolerate her being a best friend; I could never be a lover of hers!" He grimaced. "Besides, it's you I love."

"I know…And I wasn't doing anything with Leonard. I wouldn't...It's always been you." Amy blushed.

Sheldon kissed her softly.

"Get anything good? New games? Comic books? Food?" Amy asked.

"No to all." Sheldon replied, leaning forward and dragging the bags closer. "These are for you." He passed two of the bags to Amy.

"More stuff for me? That's two days in a row; you don't have to!" Amy smiled.

"I want to." Sheldon replied, proceeding to pull a new superhero shirt out of one of his bags, and some movies out of the other.

Amy pulled something soft out of one of the bags and looked at it.

She laughed.

"So me and the baby match, right?" She held up a maternity shirt against herself.

The shirt was the maternity version of the baby sleepsuit he had bought the day before, spelling out: MoThEr Gee-K.

"I love it! Thank you Sheldon." She kissed him lovingly.

"Penny helped me pick it out, and the other clothes in there…It took us ages to find. Oh, and there _is _actually some food in there…But no comic books or games." Sheldon said.

Amy smiled at him. "What happened to you?"

Sheldon frowned, questioningly.

"When did you become so sweet?" Amy asked.

"I've always been sweet…I just didn't have anyone worth showing it to." Sheldon shrugged. "Well, that and I didn't really know how to."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!" Amy winked.

"So what area of study did you get moved to at work?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm still on brain slicing." Amy laughed, "But they knew I needed something else to focus on other than the primates…So they put me in the Human Cognitive Behaviour research team. I need to have my induction on Monday."

Sheldon nodded. "Not bad. At least you won't come face to face with any babies there!"

"No; they don't allow it. Not there anyway." Amy shook her head.

"Well, don't tell anyone I said this either but…I'm proud of you for doing that." Sheldon said quietly.

"Thank you," Amy smiled, "And don't worry; my lips are sealed."

She leaned over to kiss Sheldon.

"Well, except for when I'm doing that!"

..

That weekend, there was a knock on the door, which Amy answered.

"Hey Amy! Are you busy?" Bernadette smiled, standing in the doorway.

"Hello Bernadette. No, come on in!" Amy invited, holding the door open wider. "What brings you here?"

"I just wondered how you were doing." Bernadette asked, cheerfully. "And also to take you for a fun girl's day out! Minus Penny though, because she's working."

"That sounds like fun! What did you have in mind?" Amy grinned.

"I was thinking we could go for brunch and then look around the mall."

"Great! I'll let Sheldon know."

Amy hurried into the bedroom where Sheldon was sorting through his comic books.

"Sheldon; Bernadette was at the door. She's invited me for brunch and to go shopping. Do you mind?"

"Not at all…But you won't be drinking, will you?" Sheldon asked.

Amy shook her head. "Nope. Just boring old fruit juice for me."

"Okay…But I was hoping we could spend some time together." Sheldon replied.

"Well, how about I go in Victoria's Secret and pick out some nice…garments…that we can spend some time together with?" Amy asked in a hushed voice.

"Deal! Have fun with Bernadette, and be careful!" The physicist replied, kissing Amy on the lips, and tickling her lightly on her stomach.

As Amy emerged from the back of the apartment minutes later with her purse and jacket, she grinned at her blonde friend. "Okay, let's go!"

..

Amy and Bernadette sat in the little restaurant that they had had brunch in before, when they were with Penny.

"This is wonderful!" Amy said appreciatively, finishing the last bite of her food.

"Still hungry? You're eating for two now, after all." Bernadette grinned.

"Well, not quite; I'm five weeks pregnant now, which is still barely anything!" Amy laughed. "I don't even show yet!"

Bernadette smiled. "Sheldon's taking it so well!"

"He wanted a baby, we agreed to try! It was actually his idea." Amy replied.

Bernadette's eyes flew wide. "Wow, really? What have you done with the old Sheldon?" She laughed.

"He's still there." Amy replied, taking a sip of her orange juice. "In part."

"Have you told your mother yet?" Bernie asked.

"No…We haven't told his either. That will be fun!" Amy groaned.

"I thought you liked Sheldon's mother?"

"Oh no, I do…It's just, well, you know how she is. At least we can say we haven't created a baby before marriage or 'sin' as she calls it."

"Um…You kind of did sin though." Bernadette pointed out.

"Little bit." Amy grinned. "But that's not important; we're married now, and surely she must know that Sheldon and I were sleeping together?"

"Maybe. I mean it's not like you'd only ever have sex after marriage; this is the 21st century after all!" Bernie added. "Mind you this is Sheldon we're talking about."

Amy frowned at her friend.

"Sorry…Sorry, that came out wrong." Bernadette said, quickly.

"No, I know what you meant. Anyway, on that subject; I need to get a killer undergarment from Victoria's Secret that will really get his motor running tonight!" Amy grinned, impishly.

"Say no more…Actually; I know another place that does better stuff, if you're into that kinda thing!" Bernadette answered, grinning back, just as devilishly.

Amy gasped. "OOH! Tell me!"

Bernie leaned over to whisper in her ear, and Amy leaned back, with a smile on her face.

"Why are we still sitting here!? Let's pay the bill and go buy the underwear that will excite and arouse our husbands until Kingdom come!" Amy called over the waiter for the bill.

"Uh…Amy, was that 'Kingdom come' pun intentional?" Bernie whispered.

"Of course!"

..

Later that evening, Amy arrived home and found a note from Sheldon written fifteen minutes earlier.

_Amy –I have gone out to get Pizza. We have the apartment to ourselves tonight. Be back in about twenty minutes. Sheldon xx_

Amy grinned and ran back to the bedroom.

..

"Amy? I'm home!" Sheldon called out, letting himself in five minutes later.

"Hello?" He called out again.

He heard movement from one of the back rooms and nervously moved forward to investigate.

Realising that his room was dark, he switched the light on, and his eyes instantly grew wide.

"Hello, Dr Cooper. I've been waiting for you to come home." Amy purred.

Sheldon immediately felt himself getting an erection.

"Dear Lord…I have never seen anything so hot in my entire life!"

..

**A/N: ;) ;) – That is all. **

**Will update soon!**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: Howdy! Sorry for the slight delay and the cliffhanger. No excuse, I was just being an ass! :D Haha I joke…Thank you for all the reviews (wow! Never had this many on one chapter before! ) Glad you all enjoyed it. ****Smut warning for this chapter!**** Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Won't take so long to update next time ;) Enjoy, fellow smut lovers!**

**..**

Sheldon stared wide-eyed at his wife, who was stood in front of him, posing seductively.

She had on her own version of Star Trek uniform; a blue bra with the Star Trek logo emblazoned on one cup, and a tiny black skirt with long black boots.

Amy had tied her hair back and applied a little makeup to complete the look.

"Captain Cooper, welcome to sick bay. Is there something you need…taken care of?" Amy said in a low, sexy voice.

Sheldon swallowed, still staring, not wanting to avert his eyes.

He automatically walked into the room and shut the door.

"I you'd like to lay on the bed, I'll give you the compulsory examination." Amy continued.

Sheldon nodded and lay down on the bed, poker-straight, still not daring to speak or avert his gaze.

Amy moved to his side, and in one quick movement, she straddled him.

Sheldon could now see up the skirt, and noticed that Amy had on a matching blue lace thong.

He let out a nervous breath, awaiting Amy's next move.

Amy turned on the remote sensor replica, using the wand to 'scan' over Sheldon's body as she had done once before.

After a while, she tutted. "I'm going to need you to remove your pants, Captain." She purred.

She got up to let Sheldon remove his trousers and drop them to the floor.

'Scanning' him again, she asked him to remove his shirts.

At this, Sheldon swallowed. "Um…Amy, I know we have had intercourse many times, but the lights were out and you didn't see my torso. I'm not comfortable showing it off…"

"It's _Dr Cooper_, Captain. Please use formalities." Amy replied, "And I really do need the shirts off please. Don't be shy; I'm not here to judge."

Sheldon took a breath and removed both of his shirts, folding his arms across his body self-consciously.

"Captain Cooper, you don't need to be ashamed of your body. Honestly. I have seen it before, you know." Amy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but we were in the dark!" Sheldon replied. "I'm not some muscle man…"

"I don't care about that. And Sheldon, I could still see you…I know what it looks like."

"Very well…" Sheldon uncrossed his arms, but fidgeted with his hands.

Amy decided now was the time to avert his attention so that he didn't feel so self-conscious.

She straddled him again, leaning down over his body.

She began to kiss all the way from his cheek, down his neck, and finally leaving a trail of kisses down his chest and stomach until she reached the band around the top of his underwear.

Just as she peeled them down and lowered herself, Sheldon panicked.

"Amy, stop!"

Amy looked up, startled. "What?"

He shook his head. "I don't want you doing that." He said, quietly.

"Why not? We have had sex plenty of times, this is nothing!" She frowned.

"It's just not…I don't…" Sheldon tried to find the right words. "I feel unhygienic 'down there', and I'm worried that if you use your mouth on it, you will contract something." He said, feeling embarrassed.

"Sheldon, I know you're clean down there." Amy replied, softly. "Nothing will happen, and you haven't been with anyone else, so it's fine."

"Yes…But I use that certain body part for urination as well, and no matter how much I wash, it might never be fully clean." Sheldon flushed bright pink, looking down at the floor.

"Please, let me do this. You'll feel pleasure from it, and nothing bad will happen. I know how clean you are. I promise…I read about how to do this. I _can_ do this, and then you can maybe do something for me." Amy grinned.

Sheldon frowned at her. Amy rolled her eyes and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

His eyes flew wide. "Oh…Amy I can't do that for the same reasons I just gave you about my genital area!"

"I'll wash it in front of you before we do this, if that makes it better and puts your mind at ease?" Amy suggested.

"I'll just use my hands…" Sheldon replied.

"Okay…" Amy nodded, "So, shall we continue?"

As Sheldon nodded in reply, Amy pulled Sheldon's underwear down further, and took his manhood in her mouth, carefully, and began to work her magic.

"I can't reach you from there." Sheldon said.

Amy stopped for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Hands…" Her husband hinted.

Amy instantly understood, and repositioned herself so that her legs were now facing the headboard, and Sheldon had access to her.

She took him in her mouth again, moving her head up and down, flicking her tongue against him.

Sheldon's hand was up her skirt and had found its way past her underwear, as he rubbed his fingers against her, soon feeling the moistness of her arousal.

He was softly moaning with pleasure, along with Amy, until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" He called out.

Amy lifted her head up, and Sheldon promptly lifted her on to his lap, inserting himself into her and thrusting hard and fast.

Amy moaned loudly as she came, followed quickly by Sheldon, who felt like he had literally erupted.

As they regulated their breathing, trying to coax themselves out of their post-coital daze, Sheldon closed his eyes.

He had loved that _so_ much, but part of him felt like an animal.

Part of him felt ashamed that he had given in and let Amy actually put his penis in her mouth!

What if he had passed something on to her?

"I need you to wash your mouth out…Please." He announced after a few minutes.

"Very romantic." Amy joked.

"I have medicated mint mouthwash in the bathroom cupboard." He replied. "Please don't take it personally, but I'm worried that I have passed something on to you, seeing as you just had my genitals in your mouth."

Amy grinned. "Okay, I'll do it. But you can't deny that you enjoyed that!"

"No, I can't deny it. The noises and the ejaculation are evidence of that." He smiled in reply.

Amy excused herself, wrapping her robe around her and padding into the bathroom.

She located the mouthwash, and swirled it round her mouth.

Repeating this four times, Amy was satisfied.

As she returned to the bedroom, she felt a twinge of pain in her stomach.

_Odd. _She thought, frowning to herself.

Sheldon was just pulling his clothes back on when he spotted the look on Amy's face.

"What's wrong? Have I offended you by asking you to use the mouthwash?" He asked. "Because if I have, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way…"

"No, it isn't that." Amy shook her head. "I just had a bit of a pain in my stomach. I'll be okay."

Sheldon's head shot up and his eyes were wide.

"Uh oh…I did give you quite a pounding. Is the baby okay?"

Amy giggled at his words, but upon seeing his serious and genuinely worried expression, she stopped herself. "Uh, I think so."

"If you get any more pains, let me know and I'll take you to the hospital." Sheldon answered.

"Um, Sheldon…You don't drive." Amy pointed out.

Sheldon blinked at her. "I'll have to go across the hall and ask Leonard or Penny."

"Okay, but I'm sure it won't come to that." Amy reassured. "It was just a quick twi…OW, OW, OW!" She scrunched up her face in pain.

Sheldon shot to her side, not really sure what to do. "W-What kind of pain is it?"

"I don't know, just a pain." Amy replied, hunched over slightly.

"I had a bad pain like this once; it turned out to be copious amounts of gas in my body from eating too many Brussels sprouts." Sheldon mentioned.

"I don't like Brussels sprouts, so it won't be that." Amy shook her head.

"I meant it could be gas, but…"

"Sheldon! I don't think it's gas."

"Does it keep moving around your stomach?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm sorry to say it is. Would you like to go in the bathroom until it passes?" Sheldon asked.

Amy just nodded.

"If it doesn't go in twenty minutes, then I'll call for Penny and Leonard." Sheldon called as Amy locked herself in the bathroom.

Sheldon was at a loss for what to do.

_What if it was the baby?_

He couldn't think like that; stomach pains could be caused by many things.

He ran to the bathroom door, and knocked three times.

"Yes Sheldon?"

"I was just wondering if it's possible that you have a tapeworm making its way around your insides, or if you have consumed any Chrysanthemum blossoms?" He called through the door.

"No and no." Amy called back.

"Alright…What about an alien parasite?"

"Shut up Sheldon!"

Sheldon blinked. _That was rude._

"Well, if you weren't currently carrying my child, I might suggest that the pain is caused by your menses if that unnecessary snapping was anything to go by!" Sheldon huffed, as he sulkily made his way back into the bedroom.

A few minutes later, Amy let herself into the bedroom.

Sheldon looked up expectantly.

"You were right…" She said.

"About what? The alien? The tapeworm? The Chrysanthemum blossoms?"

"The _gas _thing…" Amy flushed bright red. "The pain has gone now, if you catch my drift…"

"Oh! Well thank goodness for that. I really was starting to worry that something happened to the baby!" Sheldon sighed with relief.

"Apparently flatulence is also part of pregnancy." Amy made a face. "Great."

Sheldon said nothing, just shrugged.

"Anyway…I washed my mouth out four times with the medicated mouthwash, and brushed my teeth, so you can safely kiss me now." Amy grinned.

"Okay…" Sheldon said bravely, leaning in to kiss his wife lovingly on the lips.

"We should go and eat our cold pizza." He said, realising the time.

"Do you want to re-heat it?" Amy asked. "Just microwave it for a minute. It'll be fine."

Sheldon and Amy wandered into the living room, and as he leaned down to test the heat of the pizza, he shrugged. "Ah, it's fine. Still a little warm. We were only gone for 35 minutes."

He bravely took a slice and ate it. He was surprised that the temperature of the food was still warm after being in the box, and that the flavour remained.

Amy bit into her own slice and used some of the garlic and herb dip.

"I think I've found my first craving!" She smiled. "Pizza with garlic and herb dip."

"I thought I was your first craving?" Sheldon asked, in a mock-sulky tone.

Amy laughed, wiping garlic and herb dip on to Sheldon's nose.

He rewarded her with a withering look. "Very mature." He shook his head, with a smile betraying his serious tone.

He grabbed Amy and tickled her sides, making her drop the pizza back on to the box and roll on to her side on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

Sheldon rolled on top of her, still tickling her sides, having abandoned his slice of pizza too.

As they finally stopped play-fighting and lay on the floor to catch their breath, Sheldon kissed Amy on the cheek.

"Well that was fun." He sighed, "Come on, let's finish our food. God knows how many germs are on this floor!"


	51. Chapter 51

Another month passed, and Sheldon woke up one morning to Amy crying.

"Amy?" He asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

She was stood in front of the mirror, looking down at herself.

"It's happening!" She wept.

Sheldon frowned. "What is?"

"I'm getting fat!" Amy broke down again, and Sheldon looked mildly horrified, unsure of what to do.

"Is this weeping something that can be expected with pregnancy?" He asked.

"No, Sheldon. I'm happy, happy, happy!" Amy snapped back.

"Was that sarcasm?"

"YES IT WAS SARCASM!"

Sheldon blinked. "Forgive me, but I thought that this weepy, snappy behaviour came from when a woman was going through her menses?"

"Yes, it happens when we're pregnant too, but worse."

"Well Good Lord." Sheldon muttered. "If I'd have known this before we agreed to have a child, I could have prepared myself."

Amy glared at him. "Are you saying that you want me to have an abortion?"

Sheldon looked at his wife like she was crazy. "No! Of course not. That's not what I…"

Before he could finish, Amy had kneed him in the groin, causing him to sink to the floor. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Moments later, Leonard opened Sheldon's bedroom door.

"What the hell is going on?...Oh my God; Sheldon are you okay?" He kneeled down where his roommate was sprawled on the floor, hands between his legs.

"The fact that I am laying on what could be a germ-infested floor would suggest otherwise." Sheldon squeaked in reply.

"Did Amy kick you in the groin?" Leonard asked, helping Sheldon to his feet.

Sheldon, still winded, shook his head. "No…She kneed me!"

"Why?"

"She took something I said the wrong way."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did she really take it the wrong way, or did you say actually something insensitive?"

"Amy was weepy this morning, I asked what was wrong, so she told me she thinks she looks fat. I asked her if the whole weeping and getting angry thing was to be expected. She said yes, so I replied that if I had known in advance, I could have prepared myself. She took it the wrong way, and attacked my genitals." Sheldon explained, slowly seating himself on his bed. "This may well be our only child Leonard. She hit me so hard, it's possible I may be infertile."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt it. Well…You could have been a little more sensitive to her feelings."

"What do you mean?" Sheldon questioned.

"I mean, instead of asking if crying and getting mad are expected during pregnancy, you could have asked if she needed anything, and told her she doesn't look fat." Leonard replied.

"Oh…I didn't think of that. Would that have provided different results?"

"Well, for one, she would still be in here and not over at Penny's right now, and two, you wouldn't be clutching your penis right now."

"She's over at Penny's?" Sheldon looked genuinely afraid.

"Yeah, I saw her storm over there…Why?" Leonard frowned.

Sheldon swallowed. "If she's gone over to Penny's, then that means that…"

"Sheldon Cooper you insensitive bastard!" Penny's voice rang through the apartment from the front door.

Leonard stared at Sheldon.

"Well…It was nice knowing you Leonard." Sheldon shuffled over to the window and opened it.

"What are you doing? Come back here and face up to it!" Leonard rolled his eyes, holding Sheldon back by his pyjama top and closing the window again.

Penny walked into Sheldon's room. "There you are. I have a bone to pick with you…"

"Penny, I appreciate that you're trying to stick up for Amy, but this really isn't your argument." Sheldon said reasonably. He looked to Amy who was standing sheepishly behind Penny. "For the record, Amy, I'm sorry I wasn't more sensitive to your feelings. All I meant by my comment was that I could be more prepared on how to _deal _with it. I would never ask you to get rid of our baby."

Amy nodded. "Thank you Sheldon. And I'm sorry for overreacting and hitting you in your genital regions…And for the record, I did tell Penny _not_ to come over here and yell at you."

"That's true." Penny nodded, "But how about I kick him too, instead?"

"Not necessary." Amy intervened, as Sheldon backed up, holding his crotch again. "Thank you anyway."

"Penny, I love you, but you can't keep flying off the handle at Sheldon like that; you know how he is." Leonard said.

Penny sighed. "I guess you're right. But please, Sheldon, _think _before you speak in future. You're a smart man, use some of that intelligence to realise what is and isn't okay to say to people. Amy is my best friend and I don't want to see her upset."

"Noted." Sheldon nodded.

Penny gave him a small smile, before taking Leonard's hand and leaving Amy and Sheldon alone in their room.

There was a few moments' silence before Sheldon spoke; "I _am _sorry, you know." He said, softly.

"I know." Amy nodded.

"And you're not fat. It's just the baby. It will go once you've given birth."

Amy shook her head. "No it won't."

"It will if you stick to a regime."

"I won't have time. I'll have a baby to look after." She sighed.

"I'll be around…" Sheldon said, a little sadly. "I helped to create this, do you really think I would make you do all the work?"

Amy looked up into his eyes. "R-Really?"

"Of course 'really'."

"But…You work. They need you."

"I can home-commute when I need to... As can you."

Amy flung her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder, breathing in the comforting smell of talcum powder and his Darth Vader shampoo.

"I guess you're right anyway…About the whole weight thing." Amy said, leaning back to look at her husband.

"Of course I'm right." Sheldon snorted.

Amy rolled her eyes. "No, I mean…I'm only ten weeks pregnant. This is nothing, just a tiny bump."

Sheldon didn't say anything; he just looked down at Amy's stomach.

"I can't wait! In two weeks, we'll be getting its first ultrasound scan! Then we can officially tell everyone!" She grinned.

"Hmm…" Sheldon replied, pursing his lips.

"What?" Amy inquired.

"I just wonder how my mother will take it." He said.

"It's her first grandchild. You said she's always wanted one, and we _are _married, so it's not like it's a sin or anything." Amy shrugged.

"I suppose." Sheldon nodded. "What about your mother?"

Amy bit her lip. "She may be a tougher nut to crack."

"I thought she liked me?" Sheldon asked.

"She does! It's just that she's always been extremely overprotective of me." Amy confessed.

"Ah…And if that's the case I'm not sure she's likely to be happy about hearing; 'Mom, guess what? My new husband gave me a good seeing to, and now I'm carrying his baby!'" Sheldon groaned.

Amy giggled. "Well, I wouldn't phrase it like that, but…I don't know how she'll react."

"Well, we have another two weeks before we can worry about that. Besides, it's not like they can force us to get rid of the baby" Sheldon answered. "Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste my Saturday worrying about trivial things, what do you say we visit the zoo?"

..

Amy was stood in front of the giraffe enclosure at the zoo, arms folded.

"Here…Sorry I took so long, there was a bit of a line at the refreshment stand." Sheldon said, approaching with two bottles of cold water, and handing one to Amy.

"Thanks Sheldon…Look, I found you!" She giggled.

Sheldon frowned, and then gave Amy a withering look, after she pointed to the giraffe.

"Very funny. Well I found you!" He turned around and pointed to the wild fox enclosure.

Amy laughed, snapping some pictures of the animals on her camera.

"Why _do_ you call me a vixen?" Amy asked.

"Because you're cheeky…And foxy!" Sheldon smiled, grabbing her round the waist.

Suddenly, realising that they were in public, he let go and stood back, awkwardly.

"You can perform public displays of affection, you know." Amy whispered.

"You know that's not in my nature." Sheldon whispered back.

"We're married now. Make it your nature!" Amy grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss.

At first, he was too shocked to respond, but he soon got lost in the kiss and wrapped his arms around Amy's waist.

"Amy Fowler? Is that you?"

A female voice disrupted the couple, and they turned their heads.

Amy's expression turned icy.

"Hello Cathy." She said through gritted teeth.

"You have a boyfriend? Never thought that would happen." Cathy sneered.

"I'm actually her husband, and it's Amy _Cooper_." Sheldon replied, sensing that Amy didn't want to be around this woman, so he took her hand and turned around.

"It's been so long since school…Do you really need to be so frosty?" Cathy asked, grabbing Amy's arm.

"Do you really need to ask?" Amy snapped back, shaking the other woman off. "Come on, Sheldon." She turned to walk away.

Cathy ran after her. "Amy! I'm talking to you." She got aggressive.

Amy stood her ground. "Not here, Cathy!" She said, firmly. "Not ever."

Sheldon felt a rush of something inside him, which told him to protect his wife and unborn baby; this woman was clearly a threat.

He stepped in front of Amy. "Leave her alone." He said staring down at the woman.

Cathy raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Relax. I'm trying to mend fences, aren't I Amy?"

Amy snorted. "Couldn't you just leave it? We haven't seen in each other in years, and I'd like to keep it that way." She gripped Sheldon's hand tightly and walked away again, her heart pounding.

Sheldon glared at the dark brunette woman as they walked away.

"Are you alright?" He whispered, as they came to a stop by the zebras.

Amy nodded.

Sheldon let his hand slip to cradle the slight bump where Amy had begun showing.

"Whoa. Don't tell me you're pregnant too!" Cathy laughed, having caught up with them.

"What is it to you? I told you to leave!" Sheldon hissed.

"And again, I'm talking to Amy!" Cathy tried to get in Sheldon's face and something inside him snapped.

"Get…Away…From her!" He began to tremble with rage, his eyes menacing as he stared Cathy out.

Cathy started to look genuinely nervous now.

"I still haven't gotten over you _telling on me, _Gorilla Fingers!" Cathy snarled at Amy.

"You have problems. Leave us alone; High School was years ago now, and you're supposed to be an adult." Amy shook her head.

"Not until I've got you back for tattling!" Cathy lunged at Amy, but Sheldon managed to put his arm in the way just in time.

"Move, you lanky ass!" The dark brunette spat at Sheldon.

"With pleasure." Sheldon took Amy's hand and walked away, still shielding her.

"I MEANT MOVE SO I CAN GET HER!" Cathy yelled.

"She's nuts!" Amy shook her head.

"I have an idea." Sheldon muttered, making his way over to the Capuchin monkey cages.

"What would that be?" Amy asked.

"Trust me…You taught me this." Sheldon replied.

Cathy approached the couple again, her body language clearly designed to intimidate Amy and Sheldon.

The monkeys started to go crazy as Cathy approached, shouting and trying to corner Amy.

Sheldon still shielded his wife, keeping his eyes on the monkeys.

He smiled a little as he saw the screeching monkeys approach the bars.

They immediately began to fling their waste at Cathy, who screamed loudly.

"Sheldon, this was a brilliant idea!" Amy laughed, watching Cathy cowering and trying to dodge all of the poop being thrown at her by the horde of angry Capuchins.

"It's like you said; if an interloper invades their territory, being threatening or intimidating, monkeys will react just as aggressively." Sheldon muttered in response.

At one point, Cathy got hit, and it went in her hair.

Screaming loudly, she abandoned her attack on Amy and ran away.

Amy and Sheldon were in fits of laughter.

Amy approached the cage slowly, talking softly to the monkeys. "Well done!" She said, softly, as the Capuchins gathered at the foot of the cage and on the branches, cocking their heads, inquisitively.

"Good boys and girls!" Amy smiled, taking a picture of them before they returned to their game.

"You know, Sheldon, that whole Texan 'protect your woman' thing today, may well have just earned you a reward tonight." Amy winked as she took his hand again, moving on to the next animal enclosure.

"So have I made up for this morning?" He asked.

"You've more than made up for this morning." Amy grinned, leaning up to kiss him softly.


	52. Chapter 52

Amy and Sheldon returned home from the zoo that evening, and had gone almost straight to the bedroom.

"Time for me to repay you." She had purred, before positioning him at her entrance and riding him.

Afterwards, they lay tangled in the sheets, breathing heavily.

As Sheldon turned over to kiss her, they heard a knock on the apartment door.

Sheldon frowned as he threw his clothes back on and smoothed his hair down.

He answered the door, to see a young, Korean man looking at the floor.

As the door opened, the young man looked up at Sheldon, looking nervous.

"Dennis Kim? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since the wedding." Sheldon greeted, gesturing for Dennis to enter the apartment.

"With all due respect, Dr Cooper, there isn't time for me to come in and socialise. You need to get out." Dennis protested.

Amy hurried out into the hallway, now fully dressed again. "What's going on?"

"Am I right when I ask if you saw a Cathy Rogers at the zoo today, and she became quite…threatening?" Dennis asked, looking at both Sheldon and Amy.

"Yes…She's one of my old school bullies. Why?" Amy asked.

"Dennis…Please tell me this woman has no involvement with your mother?" Sheldon looked at the young man, horrified.

Dennis bit his lip. "They met when my mother visited last year, when you got attacked." He said, looking at Amy. "She was a flight attendant on the plane mom was deported back to Korea on before she was imprisoned."

"Joyce Kim was _here!?_" Sheldon spluttered.

"Yes…She was the one who got that guy to get your wife, but you already knew that. I had no idea; my Aunt just told me everything. She told me to warn you and to get you out."

"But Joyce is in prison in Korea…She can't do anything." Sheldon replied.

"Her contacts can." Dennis replied, sheepishly. "Apparently Cathy met her on the plane, they got talking. Somehow you were brought up, and Cathy said she needed revenge on you for tattling…That woman is very unstable."

"But what does she want from us? We have nothing, and our friend told her to leave us alone!" Amy protested.

"Weirdly, it's not mom that has anything to do with this…It's her contacts and Cathy. Mom entrusted this crazy Cathy lady to take over from her until she's let out…_If _she's let out." Dennis took a breath, "but…the main concern is your baby."

Sheldon and Amy stared at Dennis, eyes wide.

"How do you know we are expecting?" He asked.

"Cathy told those contacts…And after your methods of getting rid of her -Which was _awesome _by the way! – She's out for blood." Dennis responded.

Amy gasped, and tears ran down her face. "No! No, no, no, they can't do this! I'm not even three months pregnant! This is sick and twisted!"

"Please, pack some things and stay somewhere safe. I'll make some calls…I can get this stopped, just lay low for a while." Dennis promised. "And uh…Try not to go into work for now, if you can help it."

"Thank you." Sheldon nodded, as Dennis sprinted back down the stairs.

At that moment, Penny walked out of the door of her apartment.

Upon seeing Amy crying, and Sheldon staring, horrified, down the stairs, she ran over. "What happened?"

Sheldon filled Penny in, just as Leonard joined them.

"That's disgusting! How can this bat-crap crazy Joyce lady not know anything?" Penny demanded, crossing her arms. "She has to know something!"

"We'll help you pack. You can stay with us, can't they?" Leonard turned to Penny.

"I don't have the room. Besides, it's the first place they will look!" Penny shook her head. "What about with Raj? I'm sure he'd like the company."

"I have a better idea…" Sheldon cut in, "How about we go to Texas?"

"And stay with your family?" Amy asked. "What about the…"

"We'll have to tell them, and we'll have to inform your midwife and get everything re-arranged over there. I can handle that now and book the flights. I'll call mom, and Leonard, could you call Raj please and ask if we can stay until we have to leave? Penny…Look after Amy. She's my main concern." Sheldon looked meaningfully at his neighbour.

"Of course I will." Penny nodded, as Sheldon hurried over to his laptop.

..

Raj had happily agreed for Amy and Sheldon to stay the night. Their flight was tomorrow afternoon, and Sheldon had printed off the tickets and receipt, and packed all of their travel documents and everything they needed.

Howard had joined them that evening at Raj's apartment to wipe any trace of Sheldon's browsing history and bank information.

"There. All done; they won't find anything on there!" He said, triumphantly as he handed Sheldon hi laptop back.

"Thank you." Sheldon said, unplugging the laptop charger and closing the lid of the laptop before placing it in his bag.

"So your mom was okay with the impromptu visit?" Raj asked.

"Of course she was; she was really excited. Well, apart from the whole Cathy thing." Sheldon replied.

"If you two promise not to have sex, you can have my bed tonight." Raj offered, "You won't both fit on the couch, and Amy is pregnant, so it wouldn't be fair to make you sleep on the floor."

"Thank you Raj, that's really kind of you." Amy thanked.

"I'm not promising anything." Sheldon replied, winking at Amy.

"Sheldon, I can't believe that these words are about to leave my mouth, but I'm really not in the mood tonight." Amy said, apologetically.

"Me neither." He admitted, "I wondered if you were craving intimacy at this emotional time."

"I am, but not of a sexual nature."

"Fair enough."

Sheldon took that as his cue to slip his arms around her and cuddle her close, as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

..

That night, when Raj had locked up and gone to sleep on the couch, Amy lay awake in the bed with Sheldon.

She sighed.

"Amy?"

She turned her head to look at Sheldon, whose body and face were facing her, but his eyes were closed.

"Yes Sheldon?"

"You sighed; are you alright?"

"Not really." Amy admitted.

Sheldon opened his eyes and leaned up a little. "We'll be in Texas tomorrow. Nobody would get past my mother, trust me! We'll be safe. They don't know where I used to live anyway."

"I know, it's just that…" Amy paused frowning, and Sheldon cocked his head, looking at her.

"It's just that what if this never ends? What if they really do find us and hurt the baby?" Amy whispered.

Sheldon blinked and bit his lip.

"It will end. They might be dangerous people, but what they lack is any real intelligence. We can always outsmart them! And Amy, _no one _is going to lay a finger on our baby because I won't let them!" He answered.

"Yeah, this is coming from the guy who's scared of hamsters." Amy smiled weakly.

"Rodents are one thing, protecting my family is another. It's kind of in my blood, as you will see tomorrow." Sheldon promised.

Amy nodded, and leaned in to kiss her husband passionately, before snuggling into his chest and finally falling asleep.

..

"Well, that was eventful!" Sheldon exclaimed as he and Amy reached the baggage claim after landing in Texas the next evening.

Amy sniggered. "That will teach him for saying a word that you can't say in an airport!"

A guy had been pulled aside as they walked through the security upon landing, for being frustrated at having to be searched, and had accidentally blurted out in anger that it wasn't as if he was carrying explosives.

Naturally, he had been escorted away by security guards.

Amy and Sheldon had laughed silently to themselves, shaking their heads at his sheer lack of intelligence.

As they found their luggage and hauled it onto the trolley, they made their way to the arrivals lounge.

"What are you doing?" Sheldon called as Amy approached a car rental desk and stood in line.

"Uh…Hiring a car." She frowned.

"But you're pregnant! You can't operate heavy machinery!" Sheldon protested.

"I am ten weeks pregnant Sheldon; it's only if you're six months or over that that rule applies." Amy responded, as she reached the head of the line.

"Okay…But drive safe and stay in the slow lane!" Sheldon begged.

"Fine." Amy sighed.

The guy at the desk grinned. "It's totally fine; my wife is five months pregnant and she still drives." He said.

"It is of little interest to me what your wife does." Sheldon said.

"Sheldon! Don't be rude." Amy raised her eyebrows.

Minutes later, Amy had paid and been given the paperwork and keys, and they headed out to the car rental lot outside.

They were escorted to the car by one of the colleagues, and once their luggage had been stashed in the back, they were on their way!

..

Amy took a deep breath as she pulled into the driveway of the house Sheldon pointed to.

"Here we are!" He grinned, getting out of the car, "Home sweet…uh…home?" He frowned as he spotted some kids making a fire on their front lawn a few houses up. "Oh good Lord." He muttered.

"Shelly!" His mother appeared at the front door and ran towards him, arms outstretched.

She embraced him into a big hug, and pulled Amy in with them. "Aww, look. A Cooper sandwich!" Mary grinned.

"Be careful with Amy, she's…" Sheldon stopped as he caught Amy staring at him, wide-eyed.

"She's what, sugar?" His mother prompted.

"She's…Fragile. Tired." Sheldon stammered. "I'll just get the bags."

Sheldon hurried over to the trunk of the car and pulled out a suitcase.

"Did I tell you Missy finally moved out?" Mary called over, "she got herself a new job and an apartment of her own!"

Amy nodded politely.

"Who was the first to move out then?" Amy asked.

"Oh that was Sheldon. Moved out when he went to college at eleven, and ain't been back since. George was next, and now Missy. But I've had Meemaw to keep me company, and now you two!" She smiled at the couple.

"Is that my Moonpie?" A voice called from the doorway.

An elderly, but still energetic-looking woman stood at the door, grinning widely.

Amy recognised her from the engagement party and the wedding, but hadn't really said much to her. She had to now. "Hello…Uh Mrs…?"

"Just call me Meemaw. You're family too now, Amy!" Meemaw smiled, pulling Sheldon and Amy into her arms.

"Come on in, it's getting chilly out here." Mary said, ushering everyone back inside.

On the table lay a huge family-sized serving of fried chicken, salad and fries.

"If you two want to go up to Shelly's old room and leave your stuff up there and clean up for dinner, we'll meet you back down here in fifteen minutes." Mary said.

"Thanks Mom." Sheldon replied, taking the biggest case and carrying it upstairs.

"And no sinning under my roof, you hear?" Mary called up.

Amy heard Meemaw laugh and say; "Oh Mary, let the kids canoodle! They're married."

Sheldon led Amy up to his old room and self-consciously opened the door.

It was just how he had left it all those years ago.

It was untouched, but looked like it had been cleaned often.

Amy grinned as she spotted toy trains on shelves, and Star Trek memorabilia lining the walls and shelves, all his childhood science books and school textbooks on the bookcase.

Amy pulled Sheldon's High School yearbook from the bookcase and flicked through it.

She saw pictures of a very young Sheldon amongst much older High School kids in the science class, senior calculus class and on his page.

She felt a stab of envy as she realised that he had a few signatures and messages in there; unlike her solitary signature from her mother.

_You're a smart cookie Cooper, you'll go far. _

_I'll miss you doing my homework for me, nerd! Just kidding! :) _

_Miss you lots bro, good luck in college, see you soon love Missy x_

_Live long and prosper Captain Cooper from all of the science club._

Glancing at the photo, she realised that Sheldon really didn't look much different.

He still had his short, dark hair, and was a very good looking young boy, and even managed to smile for the photo.

"Aww!" She smiled.

Sheldon turned around and looked alarmed as he saw what Amy was looking at. He took the book from her, embarrassed, and put it back.

"I wasn't very popular in school, being the youngest and most intelligent student there." He sighed.

"You got more signatures than me. I got one…From my mom!" Amy looked downcast.

Sheldon cast Amy a confused look. "Really? Why?"

"I got bullied…For the same reasons. Except I was a little older than you; I was fifteen, almost sixteen, when I graduated and went to college." Amy replied, "I was kind of a loner apart from Andrew, but he wasn't there that day. He left the semester early to go on vacation."

Sheldon looked sadly at Amy and wrapped his arms around her.

They heard Mary calling from downstairs.

"We'd better wash up and get down there." Amy sighed.

"And tell them about the baby." Sheldon reminded.

"Oh God, I'm so nervous. Your mom will go crazy, won't she?" Amy groaned.

Sheldon shrugged. "There's only one way to find out, so we'd better hurry up and face the music."


	53. Chapter 53

Sheldon and Amy freshened up for dinner and returned downstairs, where Mary and Meemaw were just sitting down at the dinner table.

"Sorry we were a bit longer than we agreed upon." Sheldon said, pulling out a chair for Amy to sit on, and then seating himself next to her.

"I get it…You were breaking your bed in." Mary replied.

"NO! No, mother, we weren't…Amy found my yearbook and we started discussing it." Sheldon protested.

"It's true, Mrs Cooper." Amy added quietly.

"I was only teasin'! Anyway, I hope you're okay with Fried chicken, Amy? If not, I can whip you up something else." Mary smiled, as she plated the food up evenly for everyone, hesitating on Amy's plate.

"Fried chicken is great, thank you. Mrs Cooper." Amy smiled.

Mary handed Amy her plate of food, smiling back. "You call me Mary now, darlin'. You're family now, so none of this Mrs Cooper nonsense." Mary put her arm gently on Amy's shoulder.

"Thank you Mrs…Uh, Mary."

"So, what did this crazy Carey lady want with you?" Mary asked as she sat back down.

"It was Cathy. And I have no idea…Something about me tattling on her in school. But to be fair, she deserved it after putting Rogaine in my hand lotion…" Amy's eyes went downcast.

"Well, it's a good job you did tell on her; that's just plain nasty! She sounds like a total nutcase. You're much safer here." Mary smiled.

"Thank you for making this, mom." Sheldon was about to tuck in to his food, when Mary cleared her throat.

Sheldon looked at her, bewildered. "Ugh Mom…"

"You know the rules, Sheldon Lee Cooper!" Mary snapped.

Sheldon sighed and rolled his eyes childishly and joined hands with his mother and Amy, whilst Mary said Grace.

Amy and Sheldon exchanged uncomfortable looks right up until they said 'Amen'.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Mary smiled.

"And as I have said many times before, mother, my reluctance was based on factors other than difficulty." Sheldon muttered.

"Sheldon, don't sass your mother." Meemaw scolded.

Sheldon rolled his eyes again and tucked into his dinner.

Everyone ate silently for a few moments, until Meemaw broke the silence.

"So, what's new with you two?" She asked.

Sheldon exchanged a look with Amy, who took a deep breath.

Biting his lip, Sheldon took a breath himself and cleared his throat. "Actually there's something we need to tell you…"

Mary and Meemaw looked up.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked.

"Amy and I are having a baby…"

..

The table was silent for a few moments, as Mary and Meemaw stared at Sheldon.

Amy looked down, having lost her appetite, silently wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her.

Mary calmly put her knife and fork down and finished her mouthful.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, you better not have whipped up some robot baby in a lab. I am not having my first grandchild being the mechanical sort! I can deal with it being gay or whatever, but _not _havin' wheels!"

Sheldon gave his mother a look designed to imply that she was insane. "No…Mother, it's not a robot…"

"You made a test tube baby!?" Mary covered her face with her hands.

"No! There's nothing scientific about it…Well, except for simple biology…" Sheldon replied.

Mary uncovered her eyes and looked up at him in surprise. "You mean…You and Amy made this baby the natural way?"

Sheldon looked around the room uncomfortably. "Yes."

"Shelly, you do realise that the natural way is by having sex, right?" Mary asked in a low voice.

"Yes mother, I am very aware of how babies are usually made."

"You're tellin' me that you, Sheldon Cooper, actually had sex with someone?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes, feeling uncomfortable. "Yes."

"On purpose?"

"Yes."

"Was it planned?"

"Yes…We had been talking about it before we got married, and it was conceived on the honeymoon."

"Two more questions…One; how long have you kids been sleeping together? And two; was the baby conceived out of love?"

Sheldon sighed. "Ever since Amy's birthday last year, and yes of course it was."

Mary squealed excitedly. "Oh sugar pie! Congratulations!" She grinned, getting to her feet and dragging her son up with her, embracing him into a hug.

A very bored-looking Sheldon hugged her back, his face a picture of discomfort.

"Mother, when you're quite finished, you're squeezing my kidneys." He grumbled.

"Oh get over it." Mary waved off his comment and moved over to hug Amy, who sighed with relief. "Congratulations darlin'. Who'd have thought you would give me my first grandchild, Sheldon?"

Amy laughed inwardly.

Meemaw was the next to hug them and give her congratulations.

"And we'll talk about you having sex before marriage. You'll need to ask Jesus for forgiveness." Mary said, as she sat back down.

"I highly doubt he will care, but as you wish." Sheldon shrugged.

He looked at Amy, who had now regained her appetite. "Well that went well." He whispered, as his mother and Meemaw began discussing baby-related topics.

"This was a piece of cake." Amy grimaced, "Wait until we tell _my_ mother!"

..

"Sheldon, I'm concerned." Amy frowned, holding a mint-in-box collectable toy train.

They were back in his room that night, getting ready for bed.

"About what?" Sheldon asked from where he was unpacking the suitcases.

"About why you won't take this train out of its box…"

"It's a mint condition collector's item. If I took it out of the box, it wouldn't be mint. It would just be excellent quality." Sheldon said, seriously.

Amy sniggered. "Oh no!" She said sarcastically, "excellent quality is such a low standard!"

"I know!" Sheldon replied, not registering the sarcasm.

Amy raised an eyebrow at him, and put the toy train back on the shelf with a sigh.

"Was that a sigh of exasperation?" Sheldon asked.

"Somewhat." Amy nodded, moving over to help Sheldon put their clothes away.

"Oh…Why?"

"No reason."

"There is a reason for everything, Amy." Sheldon countered.

Sighing again, Amy turned to him. "Sheldon, we need to work on your expectations and standards."

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Because we are going to have a child together, Sheldon. Nothing they do is scheduled or perfect or mint condition; it's unpredictable. Life is unpredictable! Look what has happened with us in the last year! We fell in love, our sex life started, I got attacked, you proposed, we got married and now we are having a baby and having to stay at your mother's house because we are victims of stalking! Who could have predicted that? Is any of this perfect?"

"The attack and the stalking isn't." Sheldon replied. "But everything else is." He added softly.

Amy smiled at him. "See? Life's more fun when you can take it out of the box and play with it! Like when Penny bought you that transporter."

Sheldon smiled. "That _was_ fun…Until it broke."

"Well, sometimes in life, things happen and things go wrong. Which is more fun? Scheduling every part of your life and being too afraid to open the boxes, or living each day as it comes and getting to play with the contents of the box?" Amy asked, looking meaningfully at Sheldon.

Sheldon blinked. "The second one." He muttered. "I have had an amazing year with you…I just wish that the two years before had been more like this one…Without the attack and the stalking, obviously."

Amy grinned triumphantly. "See?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes; he hated it when Amy was right.

"You're right." He said reluctantly. "I can certainly try…if you'll help me?"

"Of course I'll help you. I'm your wife." Amy felt giddy saying that, even after almost three months of marriage.

"Thank you Amy." Sheldon kissed her on the lips and picked up the train in the box, trembling a little.

He closed his eyes and ripped the packaging off, and inhaled the 'new' smell of the toy.

"Wow, you were right…That felt pretty good!" He looked surprised. "Although you were wrong about one thing."

"What was that?" Amy frowned.

"When you said that we fell in love this year…You were wrong."

Amy looked confusedly at her husband.

"I don't know about you, but I've sort of been in love with you for almost the entirety of our relationship…I just didn't know it at first." He admitted, shyly, looking down at the floor.

"Me too." Amy responded.

They exchanged a quick kiss, and then Sheldon resumed playing with his toy train.

He was lucky enough for it to fit on his train track set that was stashed on top of his closet, and Amy watched as Sheldon gleefully pushed the train through the tunnel and made it go over a bridge.

It was almost like the inner child that had been lost inside of Sheldon for so many years, was finally being unleashed.

Amy smiled to herself. "See? Isn't life more fun when you let it out of the box?" She said to Sheldon.

"Definitely!" He nodded. "Do you think the baby would want to play with this train set?"

"When it's older, maybe." Amy nodded.

"Oh good; that means I have a little longer to play with it myself!" Sheldon grinned.

Amy just shook her head, laughing to herself.


	54. Chapter 54

Two weeks into their stay in Texas, Amy's baby bump had begun to show a little more.

They had been able to transfer her health records and get a new midwife in Galveston.

Today was Amy's first official scan, and she was nervous!

Pacing around the living room, Amy bit her nails.

Sheldon finally appeared downstairs. "Ready?" He asked, barely meeting her eye.

That made Amy feel worse. She began breathing rapidly and shaking.

Mary was passing through the living room, and caught Amy panicking. "Hey, come here." She soothed, wrapping her daughter-in-law up into a comforting hug.

Mary faced Sheldon, widening her eyes to imply that he should comfort his wife.

Sheldon was terrified himself, but swallowed and slowly edged closer, taking over from his mother.

"It will be okay…" He said, sounding miles more confident that he felt.

Amy nodded, burying her face into his shoulder and trying to regulate her breathing.

"Come on. We need to leave or we'll be late." Sheldon said, softly.

Amy reluctantly nodded and they exited the front door and climbed into their rental car.

The drive only took five minutes, and as Amy sat nervously in the waiting room with Sheldon fiddling with a plastic cup from the water cooler, she sighed.

"Amy Cooper?" A strong Southern accent called out.

Amy hurriedly got to her feet and walked briskly to the room.

"Hey, wait!" Sheldon said behind her, grabbing her hand.

Amy turned to face him, realising just how pale he was right now. "You're coming in with me?" She asked.

"Of course." Sheldon frowned.

Amy nodded and walked into the room as Sheldon followed her and shut the door behind them.

"Nice to meet you, Amy. I'm Beth." The midwife introduced. "I've got all your notes here from California. Have you had any problems?"

"No. None." Amy shook her head.

"Good. That's what I like to hear. If you'd like to jump up on that bed there, we'll take a look." Beth said, pulling on a pair of gloves and switching the monitor and equipment on.

She squeezed the gel on to Amy's stomach, and Amy yelped.

"It's cold. Sorry, I should've warned you!" Beth smiled.

She placed the wand on Amy's stomach, and Amy took a deep breath, still shaking.

Sheldon was stood up; his fist clamped against his mouth, resting his elbow on his other arm.

He looked down at Amy and gently took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

"Found it!" Beth said at last.

Amy and Sheldon exchanged a look.

This was it; it was really happening!

Together, they cast their eyes to look at the monitor, and were stunned.

It had grown so much in eight weeks!

It was no longer a little round shape; it was a real baby human shape, just tiny!

Amy became overwhelmed with emotion, and as she turned to look up at her husband's face, his face was no longer pale.

His mouth was hung open slightly, and he was just staring at the screen.

His expression was almost unreadable.

"Sheldon?" Amy whispered. "Are you alright?"

"Did…I mean did we really make that?" He asked.

"Apparently."

"It's fascinating…"

"And…?"

Sheldon frowned at Amy. "And what?" He asked.

"Just fascinating?" She prompted.

"It's…I know how the reproduction process works, of course, but I've never seen it for myself." He replied. "I never thought the first time I did, it would be mine."

"Well, it is." Amy replied, softly.

She saw Sheldon blink and jaw tremble a little.

Amy grinned. "Are you going to cry?" She asked.

"No!" Sheldon replied, sniffing and looking away. "You know I'm not the type to wear my emotions on my sleeve."

"Then why are your eyes red?" Amy countered.

"Because some dust got in them." Sheldon lied, turning away.

Satisfied, Amy turned back to the monitor.

There was no backing out now; the baby was now literally a baby.

"Let me just check the heartbeat to make sure everything is okay." Beth said, switching on another piece of equipment.

Sheldon had managed to compose himself and turned around again.

Suddenly the sound of a heartbeat filled the room, making Amy gasp.

"Is that Amy's heartbeat or the baby's?" Sheldon asked, leaning forward to look at the screen again.

"The baby." Beth replied.

Sheldon made a funny noise, and Amy gave him an odd look, only to see that he had his back to her again.

"Sorry; my husband isn't comfortable showing his emotions." Amy explained.

"Typical men." Beth grinned.

"Uh…This is a little different." Amy shrugged.

Beth made a few notes and printed a couple of scan photos off, giving one to Amy and the other to Sheldon, who still had his back to everyone.

As Amy and Beth scheduled another appointment, and said goodbye, she and Sheldon made their way to the parking lot.

As soon as they arrived outside the building, Amy jumped up and down, squealing excitedly.

Sheldon eyed her. "What emotion is this?"

"Excitement and happiness! Aaaah!" Amy cried.

Sheldon gave a small smile, and took Amy gently by the arm. "Please refrain from bouncing. We don't want to damage our child before it's even born!"

"Sorry." Amy breathed, as she calmed down. "But aren't you excited?"

"I'm a lot of things Amy, excited being the main one, yes." Her husband replied as Amy unlocked the car door and slid into the driver's seat.

Sheldon took a breath as he sat beside her. "I need to learn to drive, don't I?"

"Well…I'd prefer it if you did." Amy admitted. "Just in general, not just because of the baby."

"You don't seem very excited about all of this." She added after a few seconds.

"I am!" Sheldon admitted. "I just don't know how to react. I've never done this before."

"Hello! Neither have I!" Amy laughed, as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"I know, but you have more experience with expressing human emotions than I do." Sheldon replied.

"Okay…Don't hold back Sheldon. Please express something." Amy pleaded. "I know you're controlling yourself…"

Sheldon looked at her. "Pull over." He said.

"What?"

"Pull over Amy, please."

Amy pulled over into an almost vacant parking lot for a closed-down store.

Turning to Sheldon, she frowned.

"Why did you want me to pull over?"

"Please forgive me, Amy…" He said, simply.

Amy looked horrified for a moment, until Sheldon took her by the back of her head and his lips met hers for a passionate and meaningful kiss.

His spare hand softly caressed her baby bump.

Amy tasted salt after a few seconds, and she pulled away to look at Sheldon.

He looked down instantly, but Amy could tell that he was crying.

"Why are you sad?" She asked.

"I'm not." Sheldon replied. "I'm happy…I wasn't aware that happiness could be such an overwhelming emotion. I don't like it."

"I do." Amy answered. "It shows that you care."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know…But it's nice to see that you do all the same."

Sheldon wiped his eyes and kissed Amy again, keeping his hand firmly on her stomach.

..

After a while, Amy and Sheldon arrived back at the house.

"How did it go?" Mary asked, hurrying into the lounge after hearing the door close.

"Great!" Amy grinned. "It's all healthy, and we heard the heartbeat!"

"Do you have a picture?" Mary asked.

"Yep; one each." Amy handed one to Mary.

"Aww how precious! Can I keep this to put on the fridge?" She asked.

"We wanted to keep one each. I'll scan it and print a copy off for you, mom." Sheldon replied, making his way up the stairs.

"Hold up! Sheldon, have you been cryin'? Your eyes are red." Mary asked.

"Nope." Sheldon ran up the rest of the stairs.

Mary looked at Amy inquiringly, who nodded.

"Aww, bless him. This is a huge thing for Shelly, so I'll go easy on him." Mary smiled. "Oh I almost forgot. Your friend Penny called…Something about it being safe to go home, and that these crazy people are in jail."

Amy blinked. "Oh."

She felt a bit disappointed.

As much as she adored Pasadena and all of her friends and her work, part of her had come to like Galveston just as much. Even though it had only been two weeks.

"Thanks Mary, I'll call her back if that's okay?"

"Of course; help yourself." Mary smiled, showing Amy to the phone, before walking out of the room to give Amy some space.

..

"Sheldon?"

Sheldon turned his head towards the door, wiping his eyes again, sniffing.

He pressed print.

"Yes?"

Amy poked her head round the bedroom door and le herself in.

"I just got off the phone to Penny…Apparently it's safe to go back to Pasadena. Cathy and Joyce's people have been caught. Howard and Leonard did some spying, and the others helped to trick them and get them caught apparently." Amy said.

"Well that's great! We can go back then. I'll look up some flights. That was fast!" He replied.

"I know, but our friends are clever." Amy nodded.

Sheldon turned in his seat and came face to face with Amy's stomach, and gingerly planted a quick kiss on it.

"Don't tell anyone I did that." He whispered.

"Mum's the word…So, do we really have to go back now?" Amy asked.

"We've kind of outstayed our welcome." Sheldon shrugged.

"Oh…I suppose. But that means changing everything back again at home, and I already arranged an appointment with Beth." Amy said.

"We'll explain the situation. They know why we came to Texas anyway." Sheldon replied. "Don't you want to go home?"

"I do…But I also don't." Amy admitted. "It's been so nice here; no drama. Just love and happiness…"

"But remember what you told me about not keeping everything mint condition? And that life is more fun if you 'take it out of the box and see what's inside'? Embrace the chaos Amy."

Amy sighed.

"Sorry; I just felt so at home here. It's such a loving place; it's perfect to bring a baby up in." She muttered.

"But our lives are in Pasadena."

"I guess." Amy nodded.

Sheldon smiled at her and took the scan photo out of the scanner, and took the scanned image downstairs to give to his mother and Meemaw.

Amy sat on the bed.

She really did want to go home; it was just so nice to have some time without any stresses, in a place where she felt welcome and embraced as part of a family.

She shrugged and sat a Sheldon's open laptop, searching for flights back to California.

..

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! :) I'll reveal a little more about how these crazy people got caught in the next chapter. And yes I know Sheldon is OOC, but that ****is**** intentional. After all it's not real, and he needs to move forward at some point…Anyway, thanks for reading! **


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N: So I took the day to cool off and came back to like 30 odd reviews and private messages! Yikes! I thank you all profusely, however I really didn't want to cause any drama, hate or hostility between anyone; I just wanted to get my point across and have been feeling really shitty the whole day. (Those of you who follow me on Twitter/Tumblr etc. thanks for the messages xx) I'll add a shorter chapter now, but still not sure where to go at the moment. Had my personal friends on my case all day telling me not to give up on Big Bang entirely because they 'know how obsessed I am' lol thanks guys? And a big Happy Birthday to the very sexy Jim Parsons today ;)! (If I'm not too late!) But I digress…I really appreciate the comments, but please don't hate on them either. I don't want to upset or drive anyone off FF.N but thank you so much for the support xxxx. So without further ado, here's a short(er) than usual chapter…**

**..**

Monday morning, Amy and Sheldon had said emotional goodbyes to Mary and Meemaw before leaving for the airport, having booked tickets back to LA for that night.

As they took off from the runway, Amy leaned back and sighed audibly.

"Is something bothering you?" Sheldon asked. When Amy didn't respond, he spoke again. "Are you…I'm going to go with mad here…Are you mad at me?"

Amy rolled her eyes and looked out of the window.

Sheldon flinched a little.

"Amy, please tell me what's bothering you." He asked again, lowering his voice.

"Nothing." She said, curtly, closing her eyes.

"Is it because we are taking the Red Eye? Are you worried that your REM cycle will be disrupted?"

"For God's sake Sheldon, just stop talking." Amy huffed, wadding up her jacket and placing it against the window, closing her eyes again.

Sheldon felt hurt.

Why was Amy acting so strangely?

Perhaps it was her hormones?

An air hostess walked past with a refreshment cart. "Would you like a drink, Sir?"

"Do you have any alcohol?" Sheldon asked. "Think I'm going to need it." He added quietly.

The air hostess had heard him and smiled. "What would you like, Sir?"

"What do you have?"

"We have Whiskey, Rum, light beer, wine, cocktails…"

"Do you sell Rosewater Rickey?"

"Um…I'm afraid we don't."

"Ah…well wine would be my next choice. Thank you." Sheldon decided.

He turned to Amy. "Amy, would you like a drink?"

"Pregnant. No alcohol." She replied.

"They do soft drinks…"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHELDON, NO!" She snapped.

The whole of the first class turned and looked at her.

Sheldon stared at her, shocked as he handed over the dollar bills to the air hostess.

Amy pushed past Sheldon in tears and locked herself in the airplane toilet.

Sheldon felt the back of his eyes burning.

"I don't mean to intrude Sir, but is everything okay?" The hostess asked.

"I honestly have no idea." Sheldon shook his head. "I don't know what I've done wrong."

"Let me finish serving the other first class passengers, and I'll be right back." The flight attendant put her hand on Sheldon's shoulder kindly, before pushing her cart up the aisle.

..

"So…Pregnancy hormones, huh?" The flight attendant asked, returning to Sheldon's seat minutes later.

"Maybe." He shrugged in reply.

"Yeah I get it I've had two children myself." The hostess nodded, as Sheldon slid over to the next seat, allowing the woman to sit down.

"So…You got all snappy for no good reason?" Sheldon asked.

"There's always a reason, Sir. Maybe she just isn't telling you the reason."

"You mean…She's breaking up with me?"

"No, nothing like that I'm sure, but no matter how much she screams at you, tells you to leave her alone, she doesn't mean it. She needs you." The hostess said, softly. "You need to find out what's bugging her. Let her know you're there for her."

Sheldon nodded. "I think I understand…"

The air hostess smiled and got to her feet. "I need to carry on with my duties, but go get her out of that bathroom and talk to her."

"Okay…Thank you." Sheldon said, rising up out of the seat and hurrying over to the toilet.

He did his signature three knocks.

"Amy? Open up, please?"

"Go away." He heard her sob.

In any other circumstance, he might have obliged, but now he knew better.

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out why you're upset…I'm…I'm here for you?" He said, uncertainly, wondering if that was the correct phrase.

He was about to give up when the door unlocked.

He expected Amy to come back out, but she didn't; instead she was standing aside for him to come _in._

"Amy, you're not suggesting that we have coitus in the airplane toilet again?" He raised an eyebrow. "As enjoyable as it was, it's very cramped in this one."

"I am not suggesting that. I'm telling you why I'm upset." She replied.

"Oh…Okay…Continue."

"I didn't want to leave your mother's house." She admitted.

"Well I didn't really want to either, but we have to come back home at some point." Sheldon replied.

"I know…I just felt safer at your mother's. It would be safer for the baby too; No Joyce Kim, no Cathy…No attacks…"

"No friends." Sheldon pointed out.

"We had family." Amy countered.

"Well…Don't tell them this, but our friends feel like family to me, too, and we are about to be our own family." Sheldon said. "Plus your mother is in Pasadena, so is your job."

Amy nodded lamely. "I know."

"If anything else happens, I promise you we will stay in Texas this time. How about it?" Sheldon asked, softly.

Amy nodded; that seemed fair.

"Okay. Whatever is best for Sheldon or Amy Junior." She shrugged.

Sheldon frowned. "Please tell me you are not going to name the baby after one of us?"

..

When they arrived back at 4A in the early hours of the morning, Leonard and Penny were already up, waiting for them.

"Hey guys! Welcome home; we missed you!" Penny flung her arms around Amy, and then moved on to Sheldon who tried to protest.

"Good to have you back; it's been lonely round here the past couple of weeks." Leonard smiled.

"Thank you. Now, are you sure it's safe from crazy people trying to kill us now?" Sheldon asked. "Because if not, I promised Amy we'd go back to Texas and remain there for the foreseeable future."

"It's safe." Leonard nodded. "I also found out that Joyce Kim had somehow caught wind of your wormhole prank last year, and assumed it was genuine! She wanted to get her hands on the information so that she could take it back to her own university in Korea and release it to the public, claiming it as her own work and reap in the rewards. Anyone who didn't oblige or got her sent back home, got attacked." Leonard explained.

Sheldon smirked. "No, really. What was the real reason?"

Leonard frowned. "That _was _the real reason. For years, she's been trying to leech information out of scientists across America and steal their findings or evidence of anything remotely interesting or extraordinary, and take it home and release it as her own work, before they got the chance to do it themselves. She tried to get her son involved and he got kicked out of all the universities and disowned his mother, meaning no results for her, which drove her insane and wanting revenge, I guess."

Sheldon burst out laughing.

Amy glared at him. "It's not funny Sheldon; I almost lost my life because of her."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He responded, calming down slightly. "So what about her followers and Cathy?"

"Well, as we already know, Cathy met her on her deportation flight back to Korea and they got talking. Cathy is…Well, she's just nuts. But the other people were paid to do it and threatened if they didn't go through with it." Penny added.

"So…All of this unnecessary stalking and attacking was brought on by a wormhole experiment that wasn't even real?" Amy asked, incredulous.

Leonard nodded. "Yep."

"Well, apart from Cathy but she's been imprisoned, and managed to tattle on all the followers too, so they got arrested too for associating and liaising with a Korean Spy. With Joyce in jail in Korea, there's nobody to send any more instructions or trouble our way." Penny smiled.

Amy blinked. "I can't believe it's all over, just like that." She shook her head. "So are we safe now? Completely?"

Leonard and Penny exchanged a look. "As good as." Leonard confirmed, with a nod.

Amy impulsively wrapped her friends up in a hug, her eyes welling up with relief.

"I missed you all so much!" She breathed. "I can't believe I wanted to stay in Texas so much."

Leonard and Penny hugged Amy back.

Penny looked up at Sheldon, who was stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Sheldon, come and be the other slice of bread to our sandwich!" Penny urged.

"I'm okay here…" He said.

"Just get in here!" Leonard dragged his roommate by the sleeve and pulled him into the group hug.

As they all broke apart, Sheldon suddenly remembered something.

"I almost forgot!" He said, taking out his wallet and showing Leonard and Penny the baby scan photo that occupied the clear front pocket.

Penny gasped. "Oh my God! It's gotten so big!" She exclaimed.

"Oh wow! That's amazing…" Leonard added.

"I know. Sheldon got all emotional." Amy teased.

"Did not!" Sheldon answered back.

"Yep. He cried like a little girl." Amy grinned at her friends.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Ah, the mockery. That's one thing I have not missed."


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N: Sorry I took so long to update; I was still unsure on whether I should continue this fic or not, and I started writing another (The Transfer Ambiguity), and also got tied up with coursework and have been starting up my own photography business for the last year, and it's all ready and all systems go now, so it's been some awesome, chaotic few weeks! :D But…I'm baaack! Anyway, thank you so much for all the comments and reviews and again, sorry it took so long. **

**..**

Sheldon and Amy settled back into life back home, and slowly came to terms with all of Joyce Kim's contacts behind bars.

They returned to work (until Amy had gone on maternity leave and worked from home), and were finally able to enjoy married life.

It was about six and a half months into Amy's pregnancy when Sheldon came home from work with a surprise.

"I thought you might like this." He said.

Amy smiled at him. "Sheldon, you've bought me so many gifts in the past two years. I'm starting to feel spoilt!" She joked.

"I see you're wearing one of them." Sheldon nodded at the MoThEr Gee-K shirt he had bought Amy when they first discovered that she was pregnant.

She grinned. "Exactly." She replied, as Sheldon gave her the large, rectangular parcel.

Inside was a silver photo frame with photos of Sheldon and Amy over the years; one that Penny had taken of Sheldon and Amy waltzing on the 'Girls Night' he had once attended with them, one of them at Howard and Bernadette's wedding, another of their own wedding, and the 12 and 20 week baby scans that they now had.

Amy gasped. "Sheldon…This is…" She was lost for words.

"You don't like it do you?" Sheldon made a face.

"No I don't; I _love _it!" Amy responded, throwing her arms around her husband.

"Oh, thank Einstein for that!" Sheldon sighed with relief, "Raj helped me to pick it out and organize the photos."

"I'll have to thank him too…But Sheldon, why is one of them blank?" Amy frowned.

"Oh, uh…Well, I wanted to leave that for a photo of us with the baby when it's born…Maybe on the day it's born, so it will mark a special day, just like the other photos." Sheldon replied, bashfully.

"Aww!" Amy grinned. "That's so sweet…What have I done to you?"

"I often ask myself the same question, but who's complaining?" Sheldon kissed his wife on the lips.

"Oh, and by the way, instead of calling the baby 'it', call it 'him', or 'he' remember?" Amy raised her eyebrows, smiling.

"My apologies. It's just that we spent five months calling him 'it' because we didn't know what it…I mean, _he_ was." Sheldon answered. "On that note, we haven't thought of a name yet."

Amy rolled her eyes. "We have plenty of time; we have another two and a half months before he's born."

Sheldon stared at Amy silently, as he processed her response.

"I'm afraid I can't accept that answer. We have to be ready in case you go into labour early. We can't just call him 'baby Cooper' forever. Imagine the bullying he would endure when he started kindergarten!"

"Sheldon, I highly doubt kindergarten aged kids would bully him."

"You underestimate them, Amy." Sheldon replied in a chilling voice.

"Well, we will have figured out a name by _then, _obviously!" Amy laughed.

She leaned forward to put the frame on the coffee table, and suddenly winced.

"Ooh!" She grimaced, clutching her stomach.

"What? Is he coming? Oh Lord Amy, didn't I tell you? This is what stupid people call 'karma'. We refused to give him a name, now he is punishing us by arriving early! Amy, grab an overnight bag and I'll get Leonard to drive us to the hospital!"

"SHELDON!" Amy interrupted. "I'm not in labour, he kicked me."

"Oh." Sheldon blushed, "Well…Tell him to stop!"

Amy frowned. "Yeah, I don't think he's going to listen."

"Maybe he'll listen to a higher authorative figure." Sheldon shrugged, sitting next to Amy and tapping her on the stomach, mimicking his ritualistic knock.

_Tap, tap, tap_

"Baby,"

_Tap, tap, tap_

"Baby,"

_Tap, tap, tap_

"Baby,"

Amy stared down at Sheldon. "Are you _trying _to brain damage our child?"

Sheldon gave her a withering look, before talking to her bump again. "Hello son, would you mind not kicking your mother? It's not nice, and it's hurting her."

"I didn't hurt; it just felt…Weird. Trust me; the kicking is a good sign!" Amy reassured. "It's okay sweetie, kick mommy as much as you like." She cooed at her stomach.

"Sweetie?" Sheldon raised an eyebrow. "Penny's terms of endearment appear to have rubbed off on you." He muttered.

Amy ignored him, and felt the baby kick almost instantly.

"He did it again!" She grinned. "Maybe he understood me when I said it was okay to kick me."

"Well, considering that between us, we have almost definitely produced another higher species of human being, that's a sound hypothesis." Sheldon replied.

"Do you want to feel it?" Amy asked.

Sheldon swallowed. "How exactly would I do that? If we were to extract the baby from your uterus and place it in my insides, it wouldn't survive, so I'd feel nothing."

Amy stared at him like he was insane. "Just how exactly did you get an IQ of 187?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes.

"I meant put your hand on my stomach." Amy finished.

"Oh no, I wouldn't care for that…" Sheldon protested.

"Why not? He's your son!"

"Amy, it will feel…Weird."

"Imagine how it feels for me!" She countered. "I'm the one who is currently sharing a body with him. All you have to do is put your hand on my stomach and feel him kick. You have no problem putting your hand there any other time."

Sheldon bit his lip. "Okay." He said bravely, timidly placing his hand on Amy's bump.

He could feel the familiar movement inside her stomach, which he had grown used to.

They waited for a few more moments, and Sheldon exhaled loudly.

"He's not doing anything, this is boring." He pulled his hand away.

Amy grabbed it and put it back. "Say something to the bump." She instructed.

"Like what?"

"You spoke to him a minute ago to tell him not to kick me; now try that but without telling him off."

Sheldon frowned thoughtfully. "Alright…Um…Are you a genius? Kick once for yes, twice for no."

"This is a baby, Sheldon. We're not ghost hunting, and asking them to knock answers." Amy giggled.

"Shh!" Sheldon replied, as he felt the baby kick once.

His eyes widened. "Yes! My son is going to be a genius!" He leapt to his feet.

Amy laughed. "Sheldon, he only kicked, all babies do that. I really don't think…"

"Kick three times if mommy is wrong." Sheldon interrupted, as he knelt back down and placed his hand on her stomach again, and was promptly rewarded with three light kicks from inside Amy's abdomen.

He looked at her triumphantly.

Amy pursed her lips. "Apparently I stand corrected."

"Well, I don't like to brag but…"

Amy snorted.

Sheldon looked at Amy in slight annoyance.

"Hmm."

"What?" Amy questioned.

"Is it wrong of me to find you extremely hot when you're being all mean and sarcastic?" Sheldon asked.

Amy stared at him for a few moments. "Nope. Come on." She got up and took Sheldon's hand, escorting him to their room.

"Oh, wait." Sheldon stopped and bent down. "Now listen, your mother and I are about to engage in coitus, so if you can, try to ignore it and stay away from her…'opening' for a while."

Amy stared at him in disbelief. "Sheldon!"

"What? The kid's an unborn genius; you think he doesn't already know?"


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, and again, sorry for the long wait between updates! Have been updating my other fic and working, studying etc. but now I'm back with chapter 57. Grab some tissues! We're in for a bumpy ride…**

**..**

As Amy dragged her husband into their room, still kissing him intensely, they fell on to the bed, pulling off their clothes.

"Wait! How are we going to do this?" Sheldon asked, nodding at the bump.

"Hmm it has been a while since we did anything, hasn't it?" Amy asked. "I've gotten bigger since then."

"We could try you on top." He suggested.

"No," Amy shook her head, "The bump will get in the way."

Sheldon pursed his lips. "I'm going to try something, do you mind?"

"Uh…No, as long as it isn't gross." Amy replied.

"It's not." Sheldon pulled his underpants off and sat up with his back against the headboard, pulling Amy on to his lap, facing away from him.

He entered her and wrapped his arms around her chest, caressing and squeezing her breasts as Amy moved her hips in time with his.

"Wow! They've gotten noticeably bigger!" Sheldon commented as he tried to take one of Amy's breasts in his hand, but couldn't manage.

"That's what happens when you're pregnant." Amy replied.

"I like it. Will they stay like that after the baby's born?"

"Probably."

"Oh God." Sheldon gasped in reply, feeling himself growing inside Amy and increasing his speed.

Amy turned her head to kiss him, leaning back against his body.

Sheldon took his hands away from her chest, and wrapped his arms around her as both of them reached orgasm.

"Sorry I didn't last longer." Sheldon blushed, "The whole breast thing got me."

Amy laughed. "Don't worry about it. I couldn't hold on any more either."

She felt a kick in her stomach, and looked down. "I wasn't the only one who liked that!"

Sheldon stared at her, horrified and gagged a little.

"Okay, no. That's not happening again until he's born." He shook his head.

"What? Why not?"

"Because he felt it; you just said so!"

"Oh relax, Sheldon. You were the one who said this would be okay in the first place!"

"Yes, but I didn't think that he'd actually react!" Sheldon replied.

Amy grinned. "Aww, he's going to be stubborn and annoying, just like his daddy."

Sheldon smiled. "For once, I'm going to ignore the fact that you insulted me, and proudly say: 'that's my boy!'"

Amy laughed, but then winced, clutching her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Sheldon asked. "Are you flatulent again? If so could you please not release it around me?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "No, it's not that. Ow…I think I need to sit down." She attempted to walk to the bed and sit down, but couldn't move much.

Sheldon grabbed her under her arms and helped her to the bed, tucking her in.

"Have some rest. Maybe you pulled something." He said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Maybe." Amy squeaked.

Sheldon noticed that her face had paled, and that her face was crumpled in pain.

"Shall I get you anything?" He asked, softly.

Amy shook her head.

"I'll get you some water anyway, and a hot water bottle. Do you feel nauseous too?" Sheldon asked.

"No I don't; just pain." Amy croaked in reply.

"I'll be right back." Sheldon promised, running into the kitchen and switching the kettle on, finding the hot water bottle in the cupboard under the sink, and diving into the fridge to get a bottle of cold water.

He poured the boiled water into the hot water bottle and replaced the cap, and carried it into the bedroom along with the drink.

"Here," he said, sliding the hot water bottle in its cover and placing it gently on Amy's stomach as she took a sip of water.

Amy was sweating a little and breathing heavily.

"You're sick." Sheldon said, warily. "Would you like some Vapo-Rub?"

Amy shook her head, moving to stand up again.

"No thank you Sheldon, there's things I need to be doing. The pain will go…OWWW!"

She clutched her stomach again, keeling over.

Sheldon was terrified.

What terrified him even more was the liquid sliding down Amy's legs.

He stared, wide-eyed.

"Amy…You've had an accident." He said quietly, grabbing some tissues.

"What? But I didn't need to go to the bathroom!" She protested, looking down in horror.

"Oh my God! Sheldon, that's not an accident; my waters broke!"

"W-what!? You're not due for another 13 weeks!" He took Amy's hand and sat her down on the chair in his bedroom. "He can't come now! T-tell him Amy!"

"I can't exactly stop him, can I?" Amy shook her head.

"I don't know!" Sheldon cried. "Oh Lord…I have to call the hospital."

He raced into the front room to grab the phone and then returned to his room, punching in the number.

As he spoke to the receptionist, he explained everything that he could; "Amy is 27 weeks pregnant, and her waters have broken…I'm not sure…Amy, do you have any conditions that might lead to preterm labor?"

"No," she shook her head, panting. "I have a tilted uterus, would that cause it?"

"Did you hear that?" Sheldon asked the receptionist. "Uh huh…Alright…I'd say every ten minutes at the moment…Yes, it's apartment 4A, 2311 Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena. Thank you."

He ended the call. "They're sending an ambulance round to take us to the hospital. It should be here in five minutes."

"How will I get down the stairs?" Amy asked.

"I assume we would carry you." Sheldon replied, mentally cursing Leonard and himself for breaking the elevator years ago, and threw in an extra mental curse to the maintenance men who still hadn't bothered to fix it.

"I need to call your midwife. What's her number?" He asked.

Amy took her phone from her pocket and handed it to Sheldon as he scrolled down the contacts and called her.

..

The ambulance men arrived just ahead of Amy's midwife.

After a few checks, they piled her into the ambulance with the midwife following on behind in her car.

Sheldon sat in the ambulance and fired off a text to Leonard.

_Leonard, Amy has gone into premature labor. We are en-route to the hospital now, please inform the others. I'm scared Leonard… Sheldon._

He replaced his phone back into his pocket as his shaky hand gripped Amy's.

Amy was hooked up to a gas-and-air mask in the ambulance, and was panting heavily.

Sheldon's mind was racing.

_What if the baby doesn't make it? What if Amy doesn't make it? I can't lose them._

He closed his eyes, and was disturbed by his phone vibrating.

_Hi Sheldon, stay calm. Penny and I are on our way. We have told the others, and they're on their way too. I know you're scared Sheldon, but you have to be strong for Amy and the baby. See you soon – Leonard._

Sheldon took a deep breath as the ambulance pulled into the hospital ambulance spaces, and the door was opened, letting Sheldon and Amy down.

The trolley was run into the building by the ambulance crew, as Sheldon and the midwife hurried on after them.

Amy was taken into a private room to be hooked up to monitors and various other pieces of apparatus by a doctor and an assisting OBGYN.

Sheldon felt helpless as he continued to grip Amy's hand.

The midwife pulled on her gloves and did a quick cervical exam.

"You're 3cm dilated, so quite a long way to go, but you are in preterm labor Amy." The midwife clarified.

"Oh God…" Amy cried, the tears pouring from her eyes.

Seeing his wife cry hit a nerve with Sheldon and he swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling his own eyes sting as he lowered his face to nuzzle her nose.

"Let's do a Fetal Fibronectin test just to make sure." One of the doctors suggested, taking a cotton wool stick and taking a swab, placing it back into the tube and hurrying out of the room to take it to the lab.

"How long does that take?" Sheldon asked the midwife.

"Usually an hour, maybe less." She replied. "In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the baby on the ultrasound equipment."

She moved the stick around Amy's stomach, and found that the baby was moving around a lot more than usual for this stage in the pregnancy.

Not even forty-five minutes later, the test results were returned, along with the doctor.

He took a look at the chart. "The test results are positive; which does mean that you're in preterm labor. We can give you some Corticosteroids, which is a medication that increases the amount of surfactant in the baby's lungs. Surfactant allows the baby to breathe easier and spend less time after birth on a ventilator." He explained. "Although judging by the dilation of your cervix and the movement of the baby on the ultrasound, we may not have the full 48 hours to see any real effect."

"W-what does that mean?" Amy asked, taking the mask off.

"It will be touch and go." The doctor replied, biting his lip. "We will do our best."

"Wait! So you mean that there's only a 50% chance that our baby will live?" Sheldon asked.

"As I said, we'll do our best." The doctor replied, as he left the room to collect the drugs.

"You didn't answer my question!" Sheldon barked after him. He turned to the gynaecologist and the midwife. "Can any of you tell us a straight answer? _Please?_"

The two women exchanged a glance with each other.

Amy was almost holding her breath, anticipating the answer, and Sheldon just stared at them.

The midwife sighed. "Yes…If we don't act fast then there may be a chance that the baby won't survive, but we are working as fast as we can, and we will try everything. Be warned that even if the baby survives premature birth, it can cause heart or breathing difficulties or impaired brain function." She replied softly.

Amy made a strangled, choking noise and burst into tears on Sheldon's arm.

Sheldon sat in the chair beside Amy's bed feeling lost and heartbroken as his wife broke down on his shoulder, with him holding her and stoking her hair.

He let himself do something he never let himself do, and began to cry too.

After everything they had gone through over the past year, they thought that this would be their happy ending.

And all that Sheldon could think of was _'This is all my fault.'_

..


	58. Chapter 58

Amy was kept under observation a lot over the course of the evening and throughout the night.

She tried to get some sleep, but her sleep was disturbed by contractions, which were slowly becoming closer together.

About nine hours after being brought into the hospital, the midwife checked Amy again, as Sheldon left the room to use the bathroom and come back with some ice chips for Amy to drink.

"You're 7cm dilated now." She said, taking off her gloves and disposing of them, moving over to wash her hands.

Sheldon returned with the ice chips and handed Amy the cup.

"How far now?" He asked.

"7cm at the moment, but it looks like things are speeding up. The drugs won't have had time to work properly." The midwife replied, apologetically.

The tall physicist sighed as he sat back down, taking Amy's hand and covering his face with his free hand.

"This is all my fault." He said, sadly.

"How is it in any way your fault?" Amy asked.

"If I hadn't been so keen to have coitus with you, maybe he would have stayed in there longer and there would be no complications."

Amy put out her hand and stroked her husband's face.

"It could have happened whether we had sex or not." Amy replied. "Remember what the doctor said?"

Sheldon nodded.

The doctor had said that preterm labor could have been caused by the fact that Amy's uterus as noticeably tilted.

"But I didn't help matters." Sheldon shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be…" Amy trailed off as another contraction hit her, and she squeezed Sheldon's hand.

He didn't even care about the pain shooting through his left hand as Amy had a death-grip on it.

As far as he was concerned, he deserved it.

"7 and a half cm; he's coming quickly now, Amy." The midwife said, checking Amy again.

"Oh God." She sighed as the pain subsided.

"Amy…I can't believe I'm going to say this, but if our child ends up surviving, but with life-long health problems or a disability…Please don't get rid of him." Sheldon whispered.

Amy looked at him, horrified.

"Sheldon…I-I would never do that! It's our baby, why would I give him up?" She stammered.

"I don't know. It's just…I almost lost you last year, I can't lose our son too." He replied, letting the tears flow, and then covering his face, embarrassed.

Amy stroked his hair and put her chin on his head. "We may not have a choice, Sheldon. But if we do, there is no way I'd give him up."

Sheldon nodded again, as Amy was attacked by another contraction.

"They're getting closer together." She panted.

"He's on his way this morning then." The midwife answered, checking the ultrasound monitor.

Sheldon looked at his watch. "Good Lord, it's 3:30 in the morning!" He exclaimed, sniffing.

"I've been here for nine hours!?" Amy cried.

"It would seem so." Sheldon nodded, as he whirled around to look at the monitor.

The baby seemed to be active right now, and had noticeably moved since the last time he had looked.

He let out a breath.

"How long do you think it will be?" He asked the midwife, as the gynaecologist returned to the room with a swab in a tube.

She opened her mouth to speak: "We need to check for…"

"There's no need, Doctor Reeves; I'd say Amy only has a couple of hours left. The baby is moving down quite fast now." The midwife nodded at the monitor.

"Ah. Then we'd better prepare the birthing suite and wheel Amy down there." The gynaecologist replied, paging for the doctor.

..

Amy was taken down to the birthing suite; a private room further down the hall.

It hadn't even been two hours when Amy had a huge contraction, and cried out in pain, gripping the metal railings on the side of her bed.

Sheldon leapt to his feet in a panic and grabbed Amy's hand, letting her take the pain out on his hand.

"Is this it?" He asked the medical staff in the room.

"Let me see…" The midwife replied, doing another cervical exam. "Yep; 10cm dilated. The baby's coming now."

"Oh shit, I can't do this!" Amy cursed, beginning to shake.

"You're not doing it on your own." Sheldon reminded her. "You'll never have to do anything alone again." He pressed his forehead against Amy's, which was drenched with sweat, with some of her hair plastered to her forehead.

"Okay Amy, we need you to push as hard as you can." The doctor said, placing his face mask and gloves on. "Dig deep."

Amy nodded, and pushed as hard as she could.

"He's crowning; give us another one!" The doctor called out.

Amy took a deep breath and pushed harder, almost breaking Sheldon's hand in the process.

He couldn't help but observe the situation, completely fascinated by it.

Fascinated, but also terrified.

"We have the head and shoulders Amy, come on…One more!" The doctor encouraged.

"Come on Amy." Sheldon whispered, and as Amy gave one final push and lay back, panting on to the pillows.

Sheldon and Amy looked up and saw their tiny, premature son squirming as he was cleaned up and covered in a blanket.

"Congratulations; here's your son. 2lbs 1oz, born at 5:34 am on the 16th April." The doctor said, as the assisting doctor wrote the information on the tag.

Amy cried in relief. "Thank God, he's alive!"

He was placed straight into an incubation cot and taken out of the room.

"Wait, hold on. Don't we get to hold him!?" Sheldon called out.

"I'm sorry, Dr Cooper. Your son is very premature and needs to be incubated for a few weeks. It's touch and go from here, so he needs to be kept in the NICU to be monitored and observed," the doctor replied.

Sheldon grew angry. "This is bullshit! I know he needs a lot of care, but can't we at least have five minutes to bond with him?"

Amy stared at her husband in shock.

Sheldon never swore!

"You can visit him in the NICU." The doctor replied. "When it's visiting hours."

"We have to have _visiting hours _to see our own baby!?"

"I'm sorry Dr Cooper; its health and safety regulations. We have a level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and we have the very best, highly trained staff caring for him. We have to follow the rules." The doctor replied apologetically as he left the room, along with the incubation cot.

Amy broke down in tears again, just as the door opened.

"Hey!" Penny popped her head round the corner, "There are the proud parents! We were told we could visit you now. How is the baby…Is he…?"

"He's not with us." Sheldon replied.

Penny's eyes shot open wide. "Oh my God…I'm so sorry."

"No, we mean he's in the NICU. He's alive…For now." Sheldon replied as he held his tearful Amy.

Penny was followed in by Bernadette, Leonard, Howard and Raj, who closed the door behind him.

"Your mom's on her way over, Sheldon. We called her. She, your Mee-maw and Missy are catching the next flight to LA." Leonard said. "So…How long is the baby in the NICU for?"

"A few weeks…If he makes it." Amy replied, tearfully.

"Oh Ames, I'm sorry. But he'll make it; he's your son! Most of all, he's Sheldon Cooper's son; he's going to be stubborn as hell. He won't let this stop him!" Penny comforted.

Amy and Sheldon laughed bravely. "That's true." Amy nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Oh Amy." Bernadette said, "Penny's right. He'll make it."

"Have you given him a name yet?" Howard asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "We didn't have any time to hold him, let alone name him!" He replied, bitterly.

"That sucks! They wouldn't let you hold your own child? What the hell!" Raj exclaimed, slipping his whiskey flash discreetly back into his inside pocket.

"Well, he is 13 weeks premature, but still…" Leonard frowned. He moved over to Sheldon. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"I'm okay." He lied.

Leonard saw through this.

"Come on, come to the cafeteria." Leonard said, leading Sheldon out of the room.

"No. I don't want to leave Amy." Sheldon shook his head.

"We'll stay here with her." Penny piped up.

"Yeah, you boys go and chat." Bernadette added.

Sheldon looked to Amy for confirmation, and when she nodded, Sheldon moved over to kiss her. "I'll be back…I'm proud of you, and I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She smiled, waving as Sheldon followed Leonard out of the birthing suite.

Leonard led Sheldon down the halls to the almost-empty hospital cafeteria, and as they took a seat with their drinks, Leonard cleared his throat. "How are you really doing, Sheldon?"

Sheldon refused to speak, but shook his head and began to cry, covering his face with his hands.

Leonard tentatively put his hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him.

"This has really hit you hard, huh?" Leonard said, quietly.

Sheldon just nodded, still refusing to show his face.

"Your boy will pull through; he's a Cooper." Leonard soothed.

"And what if he doesn't?" Sheldon wept. "It's my fault he was born early. I shouldn't have slept with Amy so far along in the pregnancy. If our baby dies, it's my fault!"

"Sheldon, that wouldn't have done it." Leonard shook his head. "There would have been a medical reason."

"Yes; the father's genital girth being too large to have intercourse with the mother so far along in pregnancy." Sheldon snapped.

"First of all; too much information. Secondly; that _wouldn't _have caused it. I promise you." Leonard answered.

Sheldon sighed and wiped his eyes on a napkin. "I want to go see him."

"Are you allowed to yet?"

"We can always check the times on the chart outside the NICU."

"Okay…What about Amy?"

Sheldon bit his lip. "Do you suppose she'll be up to it yet?"

"I highly doubt it, Sheldon." Leonard replied.

"Then I'll just see him from the window." Sheldon sighed, getting to his feet and downing the rest of his water, before leading Leonard through the hospital halls, following the signs to the Neonatal ICU.

As he arrived at the observation window, he peered through, and saw a number of doctors and nurses in their scrubs, gloves and face masks, around one incubator, setting up the feeding tubes.

He squinted at the name tag on the incubator, and read 'baby Cooper' on the tag.

He noticed that the newborn was still moving around, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"That's him." He said quietly to Leonard, nodding at the occupied incubator.

"He's so small…" Leonard answered.

"He's 13 weeks early, Leonard." Sheldon reminded. "And the chart says that the next visiting hour is from 8am until 11 am." His heart sank.

Leonard clapped him on the shoulder. "He still looks a lot like you."

"How can you tell? He's not fully developed."

"For one thing, he doesn't want those people touching him." Leonard replied, light-heartedly

Sheldon snorted, smirking a little at Leonard's joke. "Like I said to Amy earlier; that's my boy!"

"Come on. You and Amy need to sleep, let me take you home so you can wash up and have some sleep." Leonard said.

"I'll only have about two hours sleep. I may as well just stay here until we can see him." Sheldon argued.

As they turned around to walk back to Amy's room, they saw Penny leading the others up the hallway.

"Amy's asleep. The doctor said you should come home and rest up and have a wash before you come back. They're going to let you both see him later, regardless of the time." Penny said, taking Leonard's hand, and looking at Sheldon.

"But…How…?"

"Penny and I flirted with the doctor." Bernadette grinned.

Sheldon nodded, as he turned to look in the window again. "He's in there if you want to have a look."

The gang peered through the window.

"Aww, he's so tiny!" Bernadette commented. "But so cute!"

"He's determined, though. Look at him!" Penny added.

"Well, you have to remember that he's got Sheldon as a dad." Howard chuckled.

The group laughed.

"Come on, daddy! Time for you to have some sleep. You can come back later." Leonard said.

Sheldon reluctantly agreed as he took one last look at his tiny son, and followed his friends out to the parking lot.


	59. Chapter 59

Sheldon managed to get a few hours' sleep and had a wash and a change of clothes before Leonard drove him back to hospital.

He made his way to the room that Amy had been transferred to just before he had left earlier.

Letting himself into the room, Sheldon slipped on his wristband that he had been given and sat next to Amy's bed as she stirred.

She opened her eyes. "Mm? Sheldon?"

"Good morning." He replied, kissing her on the cheek. "Have you heard any news on our baby?"

Amy shook her head.

"Maybe that's a good sign." Sheldon replied, hopefully.

"Maybe." Amy nodded, wearily.

"We get to see him today." Sheldon reminded her with a small smile on his face.

At that moment, the doctor walked into the room. "How's the mother doing this morning?" He greeted, cheerfully.

"I'm okay thanks." Amy answered, yawning and trying to stretch. "Ow, ow, ow!" She groaned. "For a tiny baby, he left a pretty sore reminder!"

"I have good news; your baby boy made it through the night…well, early morning. He's taking in nourishment and seems comfortable in the incubator. He's very active and responding well. So would you both like to meet him today?" The doctor smiled.

Amy and Sheldon exchanged a grin.

"Can we hold him?" Amy asked.

"I'm afraid not, Amy." The doctor apologised, "You can touch him gently and talk or sing to him. He's very premature, so holding him wouldn't be wise at the moment."

"How long until we can?"

"Maybe a week. He's doing very well, so I can't imagine it will be more than a week. But we will suggest that you perform skin-to-skin Kangaroo Care with him after the week is up; start with an hour a day, and then increase over time. We'll set up breast milk tubes for him so that he has the full benefits of breast feeding, until you can do it yourself." The doctor replied, handing Amy a booklet about Kangaroo Care. "Now then, let's go and meet your son!"

..

Sheldon wheeled Amy through to the Neonatal unit, in fresh scrubs which were regulation in this hospital, and they nervously sat beside the only occupied incubation cot in the unit, belonging to their new baby.

At the sound of movement, the tiny infant stirred.

Amy couldn't help but get emotional as she laid eyes on him properly for the first time.

She noted that he had a wisp of jet-black hair, and even though he was so premature, he still looked so much like Sheldon.

"He's the spitting image of you." Amy said aloud.

"He is, isn't he?" Sheldon agreed, smiling proudly.

Amy took the face mask out of her scrubs pocket and tied it around her mouth and nose, as she peered closer at the incubator.

She gently put her hand through the hole in the side, and lightly stroked the baby's arm.

The baby responded to her touch much differently than he had to the doctors and nurses.

It was like he knew that this was his mother.

"Hello little one. I'm your mommy," Amy said, quietly, feeling herself getting emotional. "I'm sorry that you're stuck in here and that you were born so early. But you're here now and you're alive and doing really well. I wish I could spend more time with you…And look! Your daddy's here, too!"

Sheldon took that as his cue to move forward and as Amy took her hand out, he placed his inside the incubator, lightly stroking the baby's arm and hand.

"Hello son. I'm your daddy…And actually, it's my fault that you're here earlier than expected. So I'm sorry that I've already failed as a father in protecting you." Sheldon said, quietly.

Amy looked at her husband sadly, and took his free hand. "You know it's not your fault." She whispered.

Sheldon closed his eyes, and then opened them again as he felt something.

He looked into the incubator and discovered their baby gripping his father's finger as hard as he could in his tiny little hand.

Sheldon's eyes widened in surprise.

Amy gasped. "Oh my God!" She whispered, "He's amazing…He's so strong!"

"Strong…" Sheldon repeated, as he slowly and carefully withdrew his hand, and rummaged in the bag on Amy's wheelchair, until he found the book of baby names.

He flicked through, and scanned the list of names with the meaning 'strong'.

Running his finger down the page, he stopped. "Harvey; it means eager for battle, strong and worthy."

"That definitely suits him." Amy agreed, as she replaced her hand into the incubator and let their newborn son grip her finger, too. "Do you like that name…Harvey?" She said into the incubator, trying out the name.

It sounded perfect, and the newborn kicked his legs as if in confirmation.

"Harvey Lee Cooper." Amy said out loud, "It fits."

Sheldon nodded. "We're giving him my middle name?"

"Yeah, why not?" Amy asked.

"Nothing. It's perfect." Sheldon kissed Amy lovingly, as they both put their hands in both sides of the incubator, and letting little Harvey grip their fingers.

..

A week later, the Neonatal unit decided that Harvey was responding well and was strong enough to come out of his incubator for an hour a day to let Amy do the Kangaroo Care technique on him.

The nurse stood in the unit with Amy and Sheldon as Amy tucked Harvey under her shirt and held him against her chest, supporting his head.

"Wow, you're a natural." The nurse grinned.

Amy smiled proudly, kissing the top of Harvey's head.

Sheldon, who had been leaning with his back against the wall, stood up straight and walked over.

He gently stroked Harvey's little tuft of dark hair.

"My hand is almost as big as him!" Sheldon laughed.

"When can Sheldon hold him?" Amy asked.

The nurse looked around the room. "Let's give it a quick try now." She replied, quietly. "Remember to support his head."

Amy gently handed Harvey to his father, who mimicked Amy's actions and held him, supporting his head and back.

He couldn't believe that it had taken over a week to be able to hold his son, and he felt himself becoming overwhelmed.

"Sheldon…Are you crying?" Amy frowned.

"No. It's dust in my eye." Sheldon lied.

Amy smiled knowingly. "You're a terrible liar! Come here you big sissy!" She wrapped her husband in a loose hug, trying not to smother little Harvey between them.

As she let him go, Amy noticed that Harvey had snuggled into Sheldon's arms.

"You might want to try breastfeeding now, Amy." The nurse spoke up, "It's important that he gets used to being breastfed as soon as possible, instead of the tubes."

Amy took Harvey back into her arms, and bit her lip.

Sheldon turned around to give Amy some privacy.

He started reading the posters all over the NICU walls about Kangaroo Mother Care and how to look after the premature baby.

He was interrupted moments later.

"Sheldon, look! He's done it."

"With all due respect, I'd rather not look. I'll never be able to look at your breasts the same again." He replied, awkwardly.

Amy sniggered in reply.

"Harvey will need feeling every hour or two to keep his strength up, but since the Kangaroo Care is only being done for an hour a day at the moment, he'll need to be bottle-fed your milk instead." The nurse explained.

"Okay." Amy nodded. "Sheldon, would you be against bottle-feeding him?"

Sheldon turned around at last. "Not at all. I'll need to learn these things."

Amy smiled at him. "Great. We can take it in turns."

"So Harvey's next feeding time will be at 1pm. You two are both central to his care team now, as of today." The nurse smiled. "By next week, we'll up his hours for Kangaroo Care and we'll provide you with the Kanga Carrier and all the information you need. For such a premature baby, he's doing incredibly well! He's a very strong and extremely smart cookie!"

Amy and Sheldon exchanged a look. "I think smart is an understatement!" Sheldon grinned, stroking his son's hair. "You're daddy's little genius aren't you?"

Amy laughed as Harvey scrunched up his face. "I don't think he cares for the baby-talk." She giggled.

"Well, over a year ago, neither would I. But he'll have to get used to it." Sheldon replied.

"Genius? I'm guessing you guys have pretty high-end jobs then?" The nurse asked.

"I'm a theoretical physicist at Cal Tech University." Sheldon replied, "And Amy's a neurobiologist at UCLA. So…Yeah."

The nurse looked impressed. "Wow! So you're into all that science-y stuff? I'm guessing the intelligence has been passed down to your baby."

"It looks that way." Amy agreed. "Even in utero, he was responding to our voices perfectly; much more so than a normal baby."

At that moment, Harvey's eyes twitched and he slowly opened them, revealing a shocking blue.

Amy gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" Sheldon panicked.

"Nothing! Look, Sheldon…He has your eyes exactly!" Amy replied, gently turning Harvey to face his daddy.

"Remarkable…" Sheldon commented, peering closer. "He looks almost exactly like me!"

"Aw, he's going to break hearts when he's older!" Amy cooed.

"I certainly hope not!" Was Sheldon's reply. "When you're older Harvey, you'll get the similar Texan upbringing that I got. First lesson: Protect your womenfolk and treat them with respect."

Amy smiled up at her husband, impressed.

"And for the record, your field will be physics, not biology. I don't want to come home to you playing with yucky, squishy things." Sheldon finished, tickling his son's arm fondly.

Amy and the Neonatal nurse both snorted with laughter.


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, and again, sorry for the delay!**

**..**

It took six weeks in the Neonatal unit until Harvey was strong enough to be taken home.

Amy was increasing her Kangaroo care time with him, and now had the Kanga carrier so that he could be against her all the time.

Harvey had had a lucky escape and was a strong, lucky baby.

The day that they took him home, they bundled into a taxi and arrived back at Los Robles Avenue.

Once inside the building and up the stairs, Sheldon let them into the door of the apartment.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted, popping out of their various hiding places.

The room was decorated with pale blue balloons and banners, saying 'welcome home' and 'baby boy'.

"We know it's late, but it's his first day home, and we haven't properly seen him yet." Leonard explained.

Amy turned her body to the side, so that everyone could take a look at Harvey, who had his eyes closed.

As he heard the footsteps approaching, he opened his eyes to reveal the same shocking blue as his father.

Everyone gasped. "Oh my God! Sheldon, he looks almost exactly like you!" Penny grinned.

"You never did tell us his name." Howard piped up.

"Harvey Lee Cooper." Sheldon replied.

"Aww it's perfect!" Bernadette cooed, peering at the tiny baby.

"You used your middle name?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon nodded, not wanting to leave Amy's side. "It was Amy's idea, and it fits perfectly, so yeah."

Amy grimaced. "Here Sheldon, do you want to hold him?" She unstrapped the Kanga carrier, and fastened it onto Sheldon, over his shirt.

Instinctively, Sheldon put his hand under the infant's head to support him, even though he didn't really need to.

Amy pointed this out.

"I know but…Well, I want to. We almost lost him Amy; I don't want to waste a second or go wrong anywhere." Sheldon replied.

The entire room stared at him.

"I can't believe we are seeing you guys with a baby now!" Penny grinned. "He's gorgeous. Hey, when are your moms coming to officially visit him?"

"My mother is coming on Tuesday, so that we have two days to get him settled at home and spend some real time with him out of hospital." Sheldon replied.

"Oh God!" Amy gasped, and everyone turned to stare at her.

"What?" They chorused.

"I never told my mother!"

"Well, you've been busy with him in hospital. To be fair, Sheldon's mom only knows because I called her." Leonard said.

"No…I mean I never even told her I was pregnant!" Amy swallowed. "Sheldon, we need to go see her right away!"

"Why? What about getting him settled at home?" Sheldon replied.

"I haven't seen my mother since the wedding! She never knew I was pregnant!" Amy cried.

"Well didn't you call her? Skype her? Text her…?"

"No. Honestly, it slipped my mind."

"How will she take it when we tell her?" Sheldon asked.

Amy made a face. "There's only one way to find out…"

..

"Here we are." Amy let out a breath as they arrived at her mother's house later that afternoon.

As she and Sheldon exited the car and shut the door, Amy jogged up the steps and rang the bell.

Sheldon was holding Harvey, standing behind her.

The door suddenly opened, and Amy's mother widened her eyes and grinned.

"Amy!" She beamed, sweeping her daughter into a hug. "I haven't heard from you in months; I was so worried!"

"I'm sorry mom, things have been a little…Well…Busy."

"Never mind, you're here now. Hello Sheldon." Mrs Fowler smiled politely.

"Hello Mrs Fowler." He replied, still shielding Harvey behind Amy.

Amy took a deep breath. "I know I should have told you a lot sooner, but…There's something I need to tell you."

Her mom frowned. "What is it Amy? Is everything alright?"

"Oh it's better than alright. Sheldon and I are very lucky…" Amy smiled, stepping aside. "We had a baby; this our son Harvey."

Mrs Fowler looked genuinely shocked.

"But…You got married just over seven months ago! You were pregnant at the wedding!?"

"No. Harvey was premature at 27 weeks…I had him 13 weeks early." Amy replied.

"I can do simple math, Amy. How could you hide this from me?" Her mother looked hurt.

"I'm sorry mom, it completely slipped my mind."

"When did you get pregnant?"

"On the night of our wedding…" Amy answered.

"Amy, have my life lessons about losing your virginity so soon not got through to you?" Her mother scolded.

"I am over thirty years old mother! It was my wedding night…Besides I lost my virginity before then!" Amy answered, angrily. "Look, we brought him here so you could meet him."

"You had sex _before _your wedding!?" Was all her mother could say.

"Mrs Fowler, with all due respect…" Sheldon tried to chip in.

"Oh…That's right, I remember! You seemed to take great delight in telling me about your sex life a few years ago! Now you're getting my daughter pregnant too soon!" Mrs Fowler said accusingly, glaring at Sheldon.

"With all due respect ma'am," He tried again, "we're married. And…We lied back then. I was still a virgin myself back then."

"Amy how could you have a baby! You haven't even been married a year and you're already reproducing!" Her mother hissed.

"Does it matter? Sheldon and I are in love, we're married…This is everything I've ever dreamed of." Amy argued.

Her mother snorted. "You don't know what love is. You're so naïve!"

Amy felt like she'd been slapped.

"That's not fair mom; I _do _know what love is! Sheldon has shown me love, and I've shown him love too! We almost lost Harvey because he was born so early. He's a fighter, and he's so smart. Please…Just look at him." Amy pleaded, moving aside for Sheldon to step forward with Harvey.

Mrs Fowler looked down at the baby in Sheldon's arms.

She was met with the bright blue eyes and long, dark lashes of the little boy.

She noticed that the baby already had a little tuft of dark hair, and her heart melted a little.

"He does look a lot like you, Sheldon." Mrs Fowler whispered.

Sheldon smiled proudly.

"But that still doesn't excuse the fact that you had him so soon in your marriage, Amy!" She added, her heart hardening again.

Amy frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you made this mistake, so you'll have to deal with it alone!"

Amy's eyes filled with tears. "Y-you think our baby is a mistake?" She whispered.

"I was over the moon that you finally got married, and Sheldon is perfect for you…Or so I thought. But you two are equally naïve and stupid. This child is a mistake." Mrs Fowler shook her head. "I'm telling you now."

Sheldon's eyes flashed angrily. "Harvey is _not _a mistake! He was planned!"

Mrs Fowler smiled patronizingly. "Good luck to you Amelia! You'll soon see what I mean by 'mistake' and you'll come running to me as usual." With that she closed the door.

Amy punched the door, feeling hurt and angry. "You know NOTHING! You're evil, you hear me? Harvey is your grandson, and I am _not _naïve or stupid…You're stupid for thinking I will ever speak to you again!" She yelled.

Sheldon gently tugged on her arm, and Amy turned around and wept onto his shoulder.

"We know what we're doing Amy." Sheldon whispered, "You're not naïve and you are certainly not stupid! After everything you have been through, you're the most amazing woman I know. That will only make you a better mother to our baby." He comforted, as they walked back to Amy's car.

"I can't believe she reacted like that to her own grandson!" Amy shook her head as she sat in the driver's seat. "But then I don't know why I'm so surprised; she's always been overprotective and set in her ways, which apparently are in the 1900's!"

Sheldon kissed Amy's forehead.

"We're adults now; we can do this without her. We have my family, remember? My mother loves Harvey, and she loves you too. Meemaw, Missy and George love you too! We're your family…You're a Cooper now." He said, softly.

Amy smiled weakly and nodded. "You're right." She took Harvey off Sheldon and gave him a cuddle close to her chest to calm herself down, before handing him back to his father and starting the car.


	61. Chapter 61

"Amy? Are you alright in there?" Sheldon called through the bedroom door.

There was no reply, so he tried again.

"I made some tea, would you like some?"

Nothing.

Leonard wandered over from his desk as Sheldon walked forlornly back through the hallway.

"Still no luck?" He asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "No. My mother will be here soon…Amy has been in there since we got back from her mother's on Sunday. She's only left the room to use the bathroom and collect food and water. She'll barely talk to me."

Leonard's shoulders slumped. "Poor Amy. I can't even imagine how she must be feeling." He shook his head, "Why would her own mother say those things? Amy is a grown woman, you're married…She can't wrap her in cotton wool forever."

"I know." Sheldon sighed. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I feel like I've failed her Leonard. I've failed my wife."

Leonard looked at Sheldon. "Why would you think that?"

"Because she's upset, and I have no idea what to do to help her. I've tried everything I can think of." Sheldon slumped on the couch, his head in his hands and hiding his face.

Leonard sat beside him. "Would she maybe like to speak to Penny and Bernadette about this? I can go explain to Penny if you want."

Sheldon shook his head. "I already tried that…Amy didn't want to speak to them."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, which Leonard got up to answer.

"Hello Mrs Cooper!" He greeted.

"Hi there Leonard." Mary replied, giving Leonard a warm hug. "Well hello there Sheldon…Or should I call you daddy now?" Mary grinned, throwing her arms around her son.

"Hello mother." He forced a smile.

"So where is my little grandson? I'm dying to see him!" Mary grinned, as she took a seat on the couch.

Sheldon opened his mouth to speak, and looked to Leonard.

"Well, here's the story…" Sheldon began, seating himself in his spot.

..

In the bedroom, Amy lay in the semi-darkness.

The sun was shining, but she had drawn the curtains to block it out.

Amy still had Harvey in the Kanga Carrier on her front, and was holding his tiny hand as he made his little gurgling noises.

Taking a deep breath, Amy unfastened her nursing bra and let Harvey feed.

She kept replaying the conversation with her mother in her head, and the tears fell down her face.

Amy sniffed, wiping away a tear and returning her hand to support Harvey's head.

"You're not a mistake." Amy whispered to Harvey, leaning her head down to kiss him on the head. "She doesn't understand."

Harvey finished feeding, and Amy fastened her bra and shirt again, just as she heard a knock at the door.

"Sheldon, I want to be alone." Amy sobbed.

"It's Mary, Amy. May I come in?"

"Well, I…"

Mary Cooper didn't take no for an answer as she walked in and opened the curtains, and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

She smiled broadly at the sight of the tiny baby.

"Oh, isn't he precious? So handsome…He looks just like Sheldon. It's scary…May I hold him?" Mary asked.

"Of course." Amy said quietly, taking Harvey out of the Kanga carrier and handing him to his grandmother.

Mary held him, and was shocked when Harvey opened his eyes to look at her. "Oh wow! Those eyes…"

"Like Sheldon's." Amy smiled weakly. "I know…He doesn't look anything like me."

"Well…He does a little. He has your cheekbones and jawline…" Mary smiled.

Amy tried for another smile.

"So uh…Sheldon told me about what your momma said. I don't think she realises what she is missin' out on. This baby is a blessing, and you and Shelly know that." Mary said.

"She's tried contacting me." Amy whispered.

Mary frowned. "Really?"

Amy nodded and took her phone off the bedside table, switching it on.

After it started up, it vibrated a few times, telling Amy that she had 15 missed calls and a number of text messages.

'_I'm sorry Amy, I should never have overreacted. But a baby is a big responsibility and I just need to know that you will do everything in your power to give him what he needs. Especially since he was premature.'_

'_Amy please talk to me?'_

'_Amelia Farrah Fowler I am worried about you; please answer your phone!'_

'_I have said I'm sorry, what more can I do?'_

There were others, but Amy tossed her phone aside.

"She called me Amelia Farrah FOWLER. I'm Amy Cooper now…Is she t_hat _ignorant?" Amy scoffed. "And how dare she question my skills as a mother! I almost lost our baby for goodness sake; does she think that I would seriously neglect him and his needs? Sorry isn't going to change what she did."

Mary nodded slowly, cradling the infant. "I hear what you're saying; my daddy was the same when I had George Jnr…He soon came around though, and by the time Shelly and Missy were born, he had gotten used to me being a mother. Maybe your mom needs more time? You have to remember that she came from a time when having children unmarried or in your first year of marriage was either a sin, or frowned upon or whatever." Mary took a breath, looking meaningfully at Amy. "I know what she said was wrong and it hurt you and Sheldon so much, but she _has _tried to apologise. The woman has a point; what more can she do over a phone, especially if she's being ignored?"

"Mrs Cooper, with all due respect, does she really expect me to _not _ignore her after what she said about our son?" Amy asked. "She called him a mistake, and now she thinks that apologising will make everything okay again? Because it won't. Sheldon, Harvey and I are a family now, and we have you." Amy put on a brave face to her mother-in-law.

Of course, Mary saw through it. "I know how you're really feeling. And if you need time, then of course, you deserve to have it. All I'm saying is don't totally rule out forgiveness. Because if you hold the grudge forever, it'll make you bitter. She's your momma after all, and I know what she said was heartless and mean, but she won't live forever. If anything were to happen, you'd regret it for the rest of your life…I think she's starting to regret her actions already." Mary smiled.

Amy took a deep breath and bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Anyway…How did I end up being blessed with a handsome son, beautiful daughter in law and a heartbreakingly gorgeous grandson?" Mary grinned, changing the subject.

"I don't know about me being beautiful," Amy smiled, "But the handsome son is your doing…The gorgeous grandson is Sheldon's doing. Everyone says how alike they look!"

"They really do!" Mary replied.

At that moment, Sheldon walked into the room.

"Are you feeling better Amy?" He asked quietly.

Amy nodded and smiled bravely.

Sheldon sat down beside her and cuddled her. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay now…I'm sorry if I pushed you away." Amy replied softly.

"You could never push me away." Sheldon replied, and then he turned his head to look at his mother, who was holding Harvey.

"I wanna see how you look holdin' a baby!" Mary grinned, handing Harvey to his father.

Sheldon carefully took his son and held him close to his chest, supporting his head.

Mary smiled, her eyes welling up. "Oh…This is something I thought I'd never live to see." She said, taking out her camera and snapping a photo of Sheldon, Harvey and Amy together. "You suit being a daddy. Who knew?"

"Not us, that's for sure!"

Everyone turned to see where the voice was coming from, and found that Leonard was standing in the doorway with Penny, holding a mug of coffee and grinning.

"How are you feeling Amy?" Leonard asked.

"Much better thank you." She replied, "My family are all around me; how could I not be okay?"

She looked meaningfully at Sheldon and Harvey, Mary, Leonard and Penny.

"That's sweet of you Amy; thank you, and thank you for becoming part of this family. You remember what I said though, darlin'?" Mary said quietly, "In your own time."

Amy nodded and got to her feet. "Why don't we all go to dinner tonight?" She asked.

"Sounds good to me!" Penny smiled, as she put a comforting arm around Amy. "But what about little Harvey?"

"He's coming with us. I know he can't eat solids or baby food yet, but we can take some formula in a bottle for him." Amy responded. "Nobody will care."

"Okay, well Mrs Cooper, why don't we all take you to this lovely little establishment not too far from here? They have some amazing food, and the waiting staff…Brilliant!" Penny smiled.

"Sounds great! Where is it?" Mary replied.

"The Cheesecake Factory!"


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Sorry I took so long to update, but here it is! :)**

**..**

Returning from The Cheesecake Factory that evening, it was agreed that Mary would sleep in Leonard's room and Leonard would stay at Penny's.

Sheldon and Amy stayed in their room with Harvey's Moses basket in the corner.

Once everyone had retired to bed, Amy settled into bed with Harvey still in the Kanga Carrier, against her chest.

She cuddled him close as Sheldon slid into bed beside them, with a small smile.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I am now. Still hurt, but that chat with your mom helped." Amy gave a weak smile.

Sheldon kissed her on the cheek.

Amy gave a sleeping Harvey one last kiss on his head, and turned around so that Sheldon could say goodnight.

"Goodnight Harvey." He said in a soft voice as he kissed the infant on the head, as Amy unstrapped the Kanga Carrier and placed their son in his Moses basket, where he stretched and kicked his legs before he fell asleep.

Sheldon turned to face Amy, who sighed.

"Come here." He said, snaking an arm around Amy and pulled her close. "What are you going to do about your mother?"

"It'll take time." Amy replied, fiddling with the bedsheets. "She can't just say sorry and expect everything to be immediately okay again."

Sheldon nodded. "You're right. She had no right to say that about our baby. We know he was no mistake."

"I know." Amy said, "We are lucky he's alive. He's so strong and been through so much. He deserves to be around people who love and care for him."

Sheldon nodded wordlessly, as he looked over to where Harvey was asleep, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

Sheldon slipped his arms around Amy's neck and kissed her lovingly.

As they pulled apart, Amy looked at him, frowning a little. "What was that for?"

"What? Just because we have a baby now, I can't show my wife any affection?" Sheldon asked. "I've missed this…I've missed kissing you, touching you and…Other things."

"Really?" Amy grinned.

Sheldon bit his lip before speaking again. "I want to make love to you again, Amy." He said, barely above a whisper.

"But Sheldon…Harvey is asleep in this room, and your mother is sleeping next door!" Amy replied.

"Then we'll be quiet." He shrugged, "All I know is I have the strongest urge to make love to you."

Amy stared at him. "You know, that's the first time you've ever requested sex without calling it 'sex' or 'coitus' or 'intercourse'."

"Of course I know that…Eidetic memory…"

"Okay, just checking." Amy laughed. "And I'd love to."

Sheldon proceeded to kiss Amy, softly to begin with, and then deeper as their mutual arousal heightened, and they were removing each other's clothing, barely breaking the kiss.

They fell to the bed together and Sheldon took a condom from the drawer, rolling it on before entering Amy.

Amy flinched in pain, and Sheldon instantly stopped. "What? What did I do? Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry…"

"Ouch! It's normal I guess; I did have a baby almost two months ago." Amy reasoned.

"Yes, but he was premature. Did he really cause that much damage?" Sheldon asked.

"It's still a baby, Sheldon. It's bound to hurt, and this is the first time we've had sex since then! Actually the last time we had sex was just before I went into labor!"

Sheldon stared at Amy wide-eyed. "Oh Lord, I almost forgot; my having intercourse with you was the reason Harvey was born so early. I'm sorry…I'll stop." He went to withdraw, but Amy moved her hips upwards with him, stopping him from pulling out.

"That doesn't mean I don't want sex with you." She said. "Just be careful."

"Of course." Sheldon promised, getting back into position and slowly penetrating her.

Their lovemaking was slow, gentle and romantic; much like their Honeymoon was, when Harvey had been conceived.

Momentarily forgetting that they were not alone in the apartment, their moans grew louder, but still trying to keep quiet.

As they climaxed together, Sheldon panted for air and collapsed next to Amy on the bed, holding her closer. "I've really missed that." He breathed.

"Me too." Amy nodded. "I love you Sheldon Cooper."

"I love you too, Amy Cooper."

..

The next morning, the two of them slept in a little longer, and padded into the kitchen together, with Harvey now being carried into the kitchen by Sheldon.

Amy made them both some breakfast, whilst making up some formula for Harvey.

"Good mornin' lovebirds."

Mary was sat on the couch on the seat nearest the door, smiling knowingly at Amy and Sheldon.

"Good morning mother." Sheldon replied.

"Good morning Mary." Amy smiled.

Mary got to her feet and sauntered to the kitchen to help out with the breakfast whilst Amy showed Sheldon how to bottle-feed Harvey.

"So…Did you two have a good night's sleep?" Mary asked.

"Oh yes, it was very peaceful, thank you." Sheldon replied.

"Lucky for some." Mary muttered, grinning.

"Why? Was it too warm in your room? It was a bit hot in our room too." Sheldon replied, as he watched his and Amy's son feed from the bottle he was holding.

"Oh, I bet it was." Mary winked.

Sheldon frowned.

Amy didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation as she prepared the food.

"There you are, Mary. I made you some pancakes, I hope that's okay?" Amy smiled, offering Mary a plate of food.

"That looks wonderful; thank you dear." Mary accepted the plate gratefully, and took her orange juice over to the couch with her breakfast.

"You're welcome." Amy replied, "So why couldn't you sleep?"

"Well…" Mary began, "I kept hearing voices…" She looked to her son meaningfully, but he was too focused on feeding the baby.

"Oh Lord, please don't tell me that you were conversing with Jesus." He sighed.

"No, I was not…Well not at first anyway. And don't you take that tone with me young, man or I'll put you over my knee right in front of your wife!"

Amy snorted with laughter, and was met with a slight glare from Sheldon.

"So what noises were you hearing?" He asked.

"Mostly moans." Mary replied impishly, "and the occasional 'oh God!' and 'I'm so close'! Does that ring any bells?"

Amy and Sheldon's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh no…You _heard _us?!" Sheldon cried.

"It was hard not to."

"Oh dear God…"

"Watch your mouth, Sheldon!" Mary scolded, "You should be begging him for forgiveness, not cussing him!"

"We did nothing wrong!" Sheldon replied, indignantly. "We're married, we have a son…Of course we're going to have coitus! Amy and I haven't had intercourse in so long. We did it out of love, I promise."

"I know you did sugar, but in future, please don't do it when I'm in the next room." Mary said, softly now.

"I'm so sorry Mary," Amy said, sheepishly as Sheldon handed Harvey to her, along with the muslin cloth so that she could burp him.

"Oh, don't you worry Amy." Mary reassured, "I'm just glad that my Shelly finally realised what he has a penis for."

Amy bit her lip, holding back a grin as Sheldon gave his mother a withering look.

"I already knew what it was for…I just never wanted to use it. Until I met Amy, of course." He said.

"Glad to hear it." Mary smiled. "Now Amy…Have you decided what to do about your mother?"

"I'm going to give it some time before I speak to her. I'm still hurt, and so is Sheldon." Amy answered, biting into one of her pancakes.

"I understand, but are you going to speak to her ever again?"

"Eventually, yes. I just need some time, and I'll tell her that."

"Good girl." Mary smiled. "You two really do have a beautiful son, you know. I still can't get over how much he looks like Shelly!"

Sheldon smiled proudly. "He's progressing quite fast for a premature baby too."

"Sheldon, how do you feel about being a daddy?" Mary asked seriously now.

"Honestly?" He leaned forward. "I never thought I could do it. But I can, and I realised that I'm a good father."

"You certainly are." Mary nodded. "I'm proud of you…Both of you! Well, actually; all of you. You are getting him baptised right?"

"Um…We hadn't really thought about it. We were more concerned about whether he'd make it." Amy piped up.

"But I think we should." Sheldon added. He raised his eyebrows at Amy.

She took the hint; Sheldon wanted to keep his mother happy, and it seemed that Christening Harvey would do so.

Mary deserved that at least, after all she had done to support them.

"Yeah, I'd love to get him Christened." Amy said, nodding and smiling.

Mary grinned broadly. "Oh, I'm so pleased! I wanted to be the one to get him a special 'My First Bible', and what better occasion to give it to him, than at his baptism!?"

She hugged Sheldon and Amy, who was still holding Harvey.

Harvey gurgled as he felt the embrace, and laid his head on Amy's shoulder, as if he fully understood that this was a cuddle.

As everyone pulled apart and sat back down, Sheldon took Harvey off Amy for a cuddle of his own. "So what do you think Harvey? Do you want to be baptised?" He cooed.

Harvey buried his face in his father's shoulder and whined a little. "My feelings exactly!" Sheldon whispered in his ear, grinning. "But don't tell your Meemaw!"


	63. Chapter 63

The next day, Sheldon had told Amy to take a break for the day and go to brunch and shopping with Mary, Penny and Bernadette.

At first, Amy had been worried about leaving Harvey behind with Sheldon, and Sheldon had been offended, thinking that Amy didn't trust him, and promised that he would take good care of their son.

Eventually, Amy agreed, promising to be back at three.

Now it was eleven thirty, and Sheldon had Harvey in the Kanga carrier over his clothing, as he went about doing his equations on the whiteboard.

"Now Harvey, what you see me doing here is _Physics. _I'm a theoretical physicist, and I hope that this will also be the path that you take…Are you listening?"

Harvey was not listening in the slightest; he was far more interested in watching a pigeon that was strutting along outside the window of the apartment.

Sheldon followed his son's gaze and bit his lip.

He so badly wanted to get rid of the bird, but didn't want to risk taking Harvey anywhere near the window.

"Rats." He muttered. "Oh sorry! Pretend you didn't hear that!" He put his hands over Harvey's ears.

Manoeuvring himself nearer the window, he stopped at the closet and pulled out a lightsaber.

He inched closer and tapped on the window with the lightsaber, which sent the pigeon flying off in panic, and making Sheldon jump at the same time.

Harvey was unable to laugh just yet, but as Sheldon looked down, he could have sworn that he saw a twinkle in the baby's eyes.

"You are just as impish as your mother! That was hardly funny." He grinned as he said this, and returned the lightsaber back to the closet.

It was then that a knock sounded at the door.

_Odd, I'm not expecting anyone._

"Who is it?" Sheldon called out.

"It's Mrs Fowler." Was the reply.

Sheldon froze.

Here he was, alone with Harvey, and about to be faced with Amy's mother; the one person he didn't want to see!

He cursed the fact that Amy and his own mother were out, and looked around the room desperately, trying to figure out a plan.

He couldn't exactly hide from her; she had heard him ask who it was!

Taking a deep breath, he took off the carrier, placing Harvey in the Moses Basket, which was now in the living room, and made his way to the door.

He wiped a sweaty palm on his pants, and opened the door wordlessly.

"Hello Sheldon." Mrs Fowler tried.

"Amy's not here." Sheldon replied, coolly.

"Oh…May I come in and wait?"

"I don't think so. Did you not get a message from Amy saying that she needs time?" Sheldon frowned.

"I don't know; my battery died." Mrs Fowler said, as she dug her cell phone out and switched it on.

Sure enough, minutes later, Amy's text came through.

"Ah…I see. Well can I talk to you then? Please Sheldon?"

Sheldon glared at the woman in front of him. "Why would you want to talk to the man that got your daughter pregnant 'so soon'?" He asked, air quoting the last two words.

"Because you're family now." Mrs Fowler tried again, hopelessly.

Sheldon snorted.

Mrs Fowler was about to speak again; "Please Sheldon, I…"

She was interrupted by Harvey crying in the living room.

Sheldon abandoned the woman at his door, and made his way to the Moses Basket, gently lifting Harvey out.

He sat on the couch with the infant, and picked up one of the bottles of formula that Amy had left him, and tested the temperature on his arm, before feeding it to the baby.

Sheldon felt a presence next to him, and looked up, slightly annoyed.

Mrs Fowler had wandered shyly into the room, and had sat on the couch. "You're very good with him…"

Sheldon said nothing.

"I know I really have no right to be here, but I…"

"Then why _are _you here?" Sheldon hissed. "I don't care if you don't like me; honestly, I don't like myself sometimes, but I will not stand for my wife – your own daughter- to be spoken to like that! Nor will I allow _anyone _to call our baby a mistake. I may not be your flesh and blood, but Amy and Harvey are! They deserve to be in a family that will love them and treat them with respect!"

Sheldon was shocked at his own words, but his Southern upbringing had taught him that a man should always protect his woman and his children.

And damn it, he would! No matter who he came up against.

Mrs Fowler blinked, shocked.

Nobody had ever spoken to her like that, and she felt genuinely afraid; normally she was the one in control.

Sheldon must really be affected too.

She tried to speak again. "You really love my Amy don't you?"

"Of course I do. I would die for her, and I'd die for Harvey. I'm a man of Texas; that's what I was raised to do!"

Mrs Fowler nodded. "I'm…I'm sorry about what I said, Sheldon. I truly am, from the bottom of my heart."

Sheldon looked up at his mother-in-law, and saw tears forming in her eyes.

He softened a little. "I'll forgive you…For Amy's sake. And Harvey's of course."

Mrs Fowler smiled. She fiddled in her bag and brought out an envelope, fiddling with it as Sheldon eyed the paper inquisitively.

Taking a deep breath, the older woman handed Sheldon the envelope. "Please give this to Amy."

It sounded more like a plea than an instruction, so Sheldon held out his hand to take the envelope, before plopping it onto the coffee table.

"Very well." He replied.

Harvey finished what he could manage of his bottle and drew his head away, signalling that he had had enough.

Sheldon used the muslin cloth to wipe the baby's mouth, and threw the cloth over his shoulder, so that he could rub Harvey's back to burp him.

Amy's mother smiled at the scene.

This man really _was _good with the baby…And he loved Amy, it was clear as crystal.

Mrs Fowler stood up to leave. "Thank you for your time." She nodded graciously. "And again…I really do apologize."

As she headed for the door, Sheldon stopped her. "Wait."

She spun around.

"Don't you want to meet your grandson properly?"

Mrs Fowler smiled. "I…I really don't deserve it."

"No, you don't." Sheldon agreed, "But Harvey does."

He gently handed the baby over to Mrs Fowler. "Be careful; he's very fragile still."

"Of course." She promised, taking the youngster and holding him expertly. "Hello Harvey."

The baby squirmed as he tried to get used to this strange woman holding him.

"I'm your grandma; your mommy's mommy!" Mrs Fowler smiled.

"Meemaw." Sheldon said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well…I call my grandmother Meemaw; I've introduced my mother to him as Meemaw so…"

"Oh…Could I just be Grandma? So he can differentiate as he gets older?" Mrs Fowler asked politely.

Sheldon shrugged. "As you wish."

Amy's mother handed Harvey back to his father, and smiled weakly. "I'd better go. By the sounds of it, Amy would kill one of us if she found out I was here and that I held your son. Thank you Sheldon."

Mrs Fowler left without another word, leaving Sheldon staring at the door, biting his lip.

Should he tell Amy that her mother had turned up?

That she spoke to Sheldon and he had semi-forgiven her?

That she had actually _held _their son?

No, he couldn't lie and keep this from her; that would be worse.

Sure, she would be mad at him, but not as mad as she would be if he lied and she found out.

Making his mind up to be truthful with Amy, he sighed. "Come on Harvey. It's time for your nap." He said as he carried the baby back to his Moses basket.

..

Amy arrived home just after three, with Mary in tow.

Bernadette and Penny had gone back to their own homes.

Amy and Mary were smiling and laughing, as Sheldon wiped his sweaty, nervous palms on his pants for the second time that day.

"Hi baby!" Amy called to Sheldon, sweetly, "We had the best time; I got some really great stuff for me and Harvey, and I got you something for being the world's best husband!" She moved over to kiss him, dumping the bags on this kitchen island.

_Oh no…_

"Amy, I need to talk to you." Sheldon said, quietly.

Mary overheard and looked up, frowning.

"In private." Sheldon added.

"Um…okay!" Amy grinned, as she allowed Sheldon to pull her into their room.

Mary tutted. "What did I tell you two about having sex when I'm here?" She chuckled.

"We are not having coitus, mother!" Sheldon called back.

Turning to Amy, who was now sitting on the bed, he took a breath.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked quietly.

"Amy…Your mother came by. Now, I didn't want to tell you and upset you, but you are my wife and I love you. I must be honest with you." Sheldon said.

Amy blinked. "Oh…"

"Yes. She apologised, and I have semi-forgiven her for yours and Harvey's sake. Also…I allowed her to hold him."

Amy shot him a look. "What?"

"I'm sorry Amy. I know what you said, but…" He pulled out the envelope that Mrs Fowler had given him to pass on to Amy. "Here. She left this for you. I told her you needed time, but she wanted to apologise and meet her grandson, and I did it for his sake. I'm sorry, Amy. I really…"

"Sheldon, Sheldon…It's okay...Really. Thank you for being honest with me." Amy interjected, putting a hand to Sheldon's face and smiling.

He let out a sigh of relief, and nodded. "So you're not mad at me?"

"No. I'm not mad with you." Amy promised, "I'm irritated with her for not taking a hint, but you had Harvey's best interests at heart, and you did the right thing. I just wish I could be as strong as you, but it's too soon right now."

"I tried being hostile with her at first." Sheldon admitted, "I made it clear that she should never have spoken to you like that, and about our baby that way. She knows I won't stand for it again."

Amy smiled. "You're learned well, haven't you?" She leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you Sheldon."

Sheldon kissed her back, lovingly. "I might not be the strongest or toughest man in the world, but I will never let anyone hurt you or Harvey. _Ever_." He whispered as they broke apart.

"I need to give you that 'best husband ever' present now." Amy replied, as she dug into the bag that she had brought into room, and brought out a men's fitted black t-shirt with The Flash logo emblazoned across the front.

"Oh Amy, this is amazing! Thank you." He grinned.

"Try it on." Amy said, excitedly. "But…_without _an undershirt. I want to see how it looks against you."

Sheldon took off his shirts, exposing his slim but still mildly muscular body, before he covered himself in the black shirt.

It fit perfectly!

"Mm, black is _definitely _your color!" Amy purred, as she stroked his chest, over the shirt.

"I love it! Thank you Amy." Sheldon smiled, kissing her again.

"You're welcome." She replied, "Come on; let's go and show your mom how sexy you look!"

Amy pulled Sheldon up, and they exited the room.

"I'm not sure she'd agree with 'sexy', but alright." Sheldon laughed.

..

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I'm so grateful and glad you enjoyed the chapter! :) And hope you'll continue to enjoy the story!**


	64. Chapter 64

"_My dearest Amelia;_

_I write this letter because you weren't in when I called earlier. I know that when you are ready, you will read this._

_I want you to know how truly and deeply sorry I am for what I said to you._

_It was uncalled for and I was horrible to say those things._

_You were right; it is about time that I stopped treating you like a teenager now, and let you live your life as an adult._

_Harvey is a beautiful baby boy, and it was incredibly unfair of me to be so nasty about him after he fought to survive, and it was unfair of me to say that he was a mistake. It's clear to me now that you wanted a child with Sheldon, and I think you made the right choice. _

_I realize now that you know what you're doing, and you will be a fantastic mother. You and Sheldon are so strong to deal with everything that you have been through, with the attack, the stalking and now with your son._

_You have done so well for yourself and I have been nothing but a thorn in your side._

_I want you to know how proud I am of you and everything you achieved. You have blossomed into a remarkable young woman, and you have a wonderful husband and baby to show for it._

_I am deeply sorry Amy._

_Please accept my sincerest apologies, when you are ready to, of course._

_I love you always,_

_Mom."_

_.._

Sheldon walked into the bedroom to find Amy re-reading the letter with teas coursing down her cheeks.

The sight of his wife crying tore him to pieces, and he slid onto the bed next to her.

"Hey," he whispered, wrapping his arms around Amy and letting her cry on his shoulder; something that a year or two ago, he would never dream of doing.

Of course, Sheldon had not read the letter from Amy's mother.

He'd rather Amy tell him about the contents in her own time.

Apparently, that time was now; "She apologized." Amy said, wiping away a tear. "She said that I've grown into a remarkable young woman, and that I have a wonderful husband and son, and that she's proud of me and so on…"

"It's true." Sheldon replied.

"Thank you." Amy sniffed, "I'm proud of you too. You've come so much further than me."

Sheldon just shrugged. "I had to. I have a wife and a son; my own family."

"This coming from the man who hates change." Amy laughed weakly.

"Not all change is bad…Like everyone kept saying." Sheldon admitted. "I changed for you because I love you so much. At first, that absolutely terrified me. Now it just feels normal."

"Should I forgive her?" Amy asked.

"Are you ready?" Was Sheldon's questioning response.

Amy shrugged. "I don't know…I know what she said in the letter, but…"

"You still need time." Sheldon nodded.

"I need time to regain my strength about this whole thing." Amy said.

From the Kanga Carrier, Harvey made a hiccupping noise and kicked his legs.

"Ow!" Amy grimaced. "That was my rib, young man!" She smiled.

"Do you think he's strong enough to be taken out of Kangaroo Mother Care yet?" Sheldon asked.

Amy blinked. "I don't know…I know they said to wait around 2-3 months to reduce the time, and we've been reducing it. Should we try?"

"Well, it's almost two months now, and he's really strong. Maybe we could see how it goes…?" Sheldon replied, uncertainly.

He gently lifted Harvey out of the carrier on Amy's front and held him.

Harvey flailed his legs around, gurgling.

Amy laughed. "I think he's glad to have a bit of freedom!"

Sheldon placed Harvey on the bed, and holding him upright.

Holding out a finger, Sheldon gasped as Harvey grabbed it with his hand.

"Wow!" He smiled, "You're a clever boy!"

At that moment, Harvey smiled and let out a little laugh.

Sheldon and Amy looked at each other, shocked.

"Was that…Was that a laugh?!" Amy asked.

"It was!" Sheldon nodded.

Harvey was still smiling, as Amy leaned over to grab her phone and snap a photo of Sheldon holding up a smiley Harvey.

Amy put her phone down and leaned forward covering her eyes. "Where's mommy gone?...Here she is!" She cried, taking her hands away again and making the little boy squeal with laughter.

"This is remarkable!" Sheldon grinned, "He's progressing like a normal baby."

Amy continued her game of peekaboo with Harvey, who was now laughing loudly and dribbling.

Sheldon grabbed some tissue from the bedside table and mopped up the drool from Harvey's chin.

"Maybe we should show him some scientific things? He might like that." Sheldon suggested.

"I think it's early days yet." Amy replied regretfully.

"Wait." Sheldon said, as he placed Harvey in Amy's arms and got to his feet, rummaging around in his closet.

From the top shelf, he pulled out his DNA replica model and placed it in front of Harvey.

"This is what DNA in a human being, AKA – the Homo Erectus looks like." Sheldon said.

Amy snorted with laughter, and Sheldon bit back a laugh of his own.

"Erectus!" Amy giggled.

Normally, Sheldon would be annoyed at a comment like that, but now he was laughing.

"Anyway…" He continued, calming down, "This is what DNA in a Homo Erectus looks like…Or in a Homo Novus, which is what we are. We are more intelligent than normal human beings. Right Harvey?"

Harvey gurgled and smiled.

Amy cuddled Harvey. "Of course he's a Homo Novus! He takes after you too much." She grinned.

As if to prove her point, Harvey opened his eyes wider and revealed the same shocking blue eyes as his father.

..

Later that evening, Amy and Sheldon were relaxing in the front room whilst Harvey was asleep in the Moses basket next to them.

The couple were kissing lovingly, when they were interrupted by shouting.

Frowning, they turned towards the door, where a knock sounded.

"Let's pretend we're not in." Sheldon whispered, kissing Amy again.

"No, that sounded serious…" Amy said apologetically, standing up to answer the door.

There stood Howard with an overnight bag.

"Hello Howard…Is everything okay?" Amy asked as Sheldon joined her at the door.

"Bernadette is in a bad mood and kicked me out for the night. Can I crash on your couch please? I hate to ask, but I already tried Raj and he's on a date with some girl from his therapy group, Penny and Leonard's apartment isn't big enough, and my mother is currently screwing my former dentist again." Howard replied.

"That certainly sounds unpleasant. Come in." Sheldon invited.

"Thanks." Howard bowed his head gratefully.

"Have you eaten? We were about to order take-out if you want to join us." Amy offered.

"Thanks, that'd be great. I hate to impose; it's just that my darling wife seems to be busting my balls lately." Howard said.

"I know she doesn't want children, but isn't that going a bit too far?" Sheldon frowned.

Howard and Amy both looked at him.

"Sheldon…He means that Bernadette is telling him what to do in an impolite manner." Amy explained.

"Oh! I thought you meant that she was literally busting your…Yes, okay. I see." Sheldon replied awkwardly.

"Anyway…" Howard continued, "I was cleaning the dishes and doing the laundry at the same time, and I accidentally put a plate in with the clothes…I didn't find out until afterwards, and the plate was all smashed up in the washing machine, and it had ripped her favorite shirt. She went crazy, took my Xbox away again and broke my game disc."

"Women!" Sheldon snorted.

Amy glared at him, and Sheldon looked at her guiltily. "I mean…Howard's woman."

Harvey stirred in his sleep, and made cute noises that sounded a lot like a baby dinosaur.

"Aww! Hey little guy. Can I look at him?" Howard asked.

"Of course." Amy nodded, as she stepped aside to let Howard bend down in front of the basket and peering at the sleeping baby. "Wow! He looks so much like you, Sheldon! He's like the spitting image of you."

"I know." Sheldon smiled proudly, "He smiled and laughed for the first time today."

"That's amazing." Howard laughed. "I want kids with Bernie one day."

"Even after tonight?" Sheldon asked, shocked.

"Of course. I still love her; it's just an argument." Howard replied. "I still want children with her."

At that moment, Harvey stirred again, and began to cry.

Sheldon instinctively picked him up and lightly rocked him, trying to calm him down.

"It's okay my little genius; daddy's here."

Howard stared, shocked, as a Sheldon he barely recognized now soothed his son back to sleep. I see."meant that she was literally busting your...ite manner."ch please? I hate to ask, but I already tried Raj and

"Wow! I can't believe how good you are with him." Howard marvelled, "I can't believe you're the same Sheldon who used to think children and babies were icky!"

"Don't say that, he'll hear you." Sheldon hissed. "Harvey's not icky, are you?"

Amy raised her eyebrows and looked to Howard. "He's changed, huh?"

"Just a lot! When I first met Sheldon, he didn't even like guests in his home, or new items of furniture; now he's married and a dad…And a damn good one!" Wolowitz agreed.

Amy took over from Sheldon, and Sheldon sat in his spot as Howard sat next to him.

"I can't believe how good you are with him; it's incredible!" He said; "He's one lucky baby!"

"I'm the lucky one…But don't tell anyone that I told you that." Sheldon mumbled in reply.

Once Harvey was fast asleep in Amy's arms, Sheldon carried the basket into the bedroom, and they laid Harvey in it gently, before Sheldon grabbed a spare bedsheet and pillow for Howard to borrow.

"Thanks." Howard said, as he arranged the bedding on the couch. "Bernie's just text me to apologise for being snappy and that she'll see me tomorrow morning." He said.

"Aw, well I'm glad you worked it out." Amy smiled. "Goodnight."

"Yes, goodnight Wolowitz." Sheldon added.

"Night guys, and thanks again." Howard replied, snuggling down under the covers, waiting until Sheldon and Amy had turned out the light and left the room, before he changed his clothes from his overnight bag.

Back in Sheldon and Amy's room, they changed and prepared for bed, before falling asleep, cuddling up to one another.


	65. Chapter 65

The next morning, Sheldon and Amy woke up to the smell of burning.

"Oh God!" Amy muttered, tiptoeing to the door and down the hall, where she found Howard in the kitchen, and no sign of any fire.

She stood watching him, and as he turned around, he jumped.

"Oh! You ruined the surprise!" He pouted. "I made you guys breakfast!"

"Aw, that's so thoughtful. Thank you Howard." Amy smiled. "I actually smelt burning though…"

"Oh, that was the edge of some toast in the toaster. Nothing else." Howard replied. "I have to leave and make up with Bernie, so I was just preparing this for you."

"What's going on?" Sheldon asked, walking down the hall, rubbing an eye.

"I made you and Amy breakfast. I have to go, but I was going to bring it in to you." Wolowitz answered.

"Oh, thank you Howard. But today is actually o…"

Amy kicked Sheldon's shin swiftly, and he frowned at her.

"Ow! I mean…Thank you Howard."

"You're welcome. Thanks for letting me stay over…I'll see you tonight?" Howard waved as he grabbed his bags.

"Wait…What's tonight?" Amy asked.

"Everyone is coming over to play Mystic Warlords of Ka'a."

"But Sheldon…We had that thing tonight, remember?" Amy raised her eyebrows.

"What thing?" Sheldon asked.

"Yeah right. You have an eidetic memory; you know what thing!"

Sheldon frowned again. "Ohhh…"

"Exactly!"

"Oh Amy, we can have coitus afterwards."

"SHELDON!"

"Whoa…It's okay; I already know. That's kind of how your baby was made!" Howard laughed.

"No…This was going to be our night to reconnect after having Harvey. We tried it the other night, but tonight was meant to be romantic." Amy said, sadly.

"We can do it afterwards." Sheldon said, "Or another night."

Amy glared at him.

"You know what? I need a day with the girls." She said, icily. "Thank you very much for the lovely breakfast Howard; it was nice having you with us. Feel free to stay over again whenever you like." Amy said pleasantly.

"Thank you for having me. I'll see you guys later." He replied, leaving the apartment and closing the door.

Amy took some of the delicious omelette that Howard had made, and some bacon, before pouring herself a glass of apple juice and retreating to the bedroom, stopping only for Harvey's formula on the way.

"Wait, you can't eat in there!" Sheldon called out. "You'll get crumbs on the bed. Come and eat out here."

Amy turned around. "Oh I'm sorry; I already made other plans to eat in our room. I can eat in the living room another day!" She slammed the door behind her.

Sheldon blinked.

He got to his feet and knocked on the door.

_Knock, knock, knock, _

"Amy?"

_Knock, knock, knock, _

"Amy?"

_Knock, knock, knock, _

"Amy?"

No answer.

Sheldon sighed and tried the door.

Locked.

"Since when did I get a lock?" He wondered out loud. "Amy, open up…Please?"

He heard Amy's voice, and it sounded like she was on the phone.

"Yep…Uh huh…Awesome! Girl's day it is. Thanks Penny! See you soon."

"Um but Amy…" Sheldon was saying through the door.

At that moment, he heard the door unlock, and Amy came out, ignoring him.

"Wha…Amy? Will you please just speak to me?"

"Sorry. I already changed my plans to ignore you today." She replied, closing the bathroom door and switching the shower on.

"Amy! I kinda have to use the bathroom…" Sheldon said, loudly.

Nothing.

"Ugh…Darn." He muttered, as he entered the bedroom, picked up Harvey in his basket, and made his way across the hall, knocking on Penny's door.

When she answered, she frowned down at Harvey.

"Uh…Hi Sheldon…And Harvey?"

"Please can I use your bathroom? Amy is in ours, she isn't speaking to me, and I couldn't leave the baby unattended." Sheldon asked.

"Yeah, sure go right ahead." Penny nodded. "Put him down here." She pointed to the couch.

"Thank you Penny." Sheldon replied, muttering a hello to Leonard who was in the kitchen.

After using the bathroom, Sheldon washed his hands and returned to Penny and Leonard's living room.

"So what happened with you and Amy?" Penny asked.

"No doubt she's already told you." Sheldon replied.

"No…Just something about wanting a Girls' Day out. I have nothing else to do, and Leonard is hanging out with Raj today at some space thing." Penny shrugged.

"Planetarium." Leonard corrected.

"Whatever. Anyway, I said I'd meet Amy and go shopping." Penny said. "In fact, I really need to start getting ready, so…"

"Oh. Uh okay; of course. Well, thank you for letting me use your toilet." Sheldon said, as he picked Harvey up again and went back across the hall.

..

When Amy was ready, and was just leaving, Sheldon noticed that she had tied her hair up, and was wearing a new pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, with some nude coloured flats.

"You look beautiful." Sheldon said.

"Mm."

"Have a good day with Penny."

"Yup. Bye."

Sheldon looked sad, as Amy left the apartment.

He looked to Harvey, who was now awake, giggling and kicking his legs in the air.

Sheldon smiled.

"Daddy needs to make up with mommy, doesn't he?" Sheldon said to Harvey, who blew a bubble from his mouth.

That gave him an idea.

"You're a very clever boy!" Sheldon grinned, lifting Harvey up and holding him as he dialled a number on his phone.

"Hello…Howard? Would you be able to do me a favor?..."

..

Returning home that afternoon, Amy was wearing a sexy new dress that Penny had convinced her to buy to "make Sheldon see what he's missing."

Of course, Amy had told Penny about Sheldon cancelling their plans to have a romantic night to reconnect and make love properly after having Harvey, in favor of playing his 'stupid game with his friends'.

Penny had told Amy to buy something sexy and make Sheldon jealous and see what he's missing out on, whilst still ignoring him.

So, with her bestie's help, Amy picked out a stunning, short and tight red dress, and nude heels that she could safely walk in, whilst still looking sexy.

Penny had also done Amy's makeup and curled her hair at hers and Leonard's apartment, before sending Amy back to 4A to initiate the plan.

As Amy opened the door, however, she was met with the room in semi-darkness, which was only illuminated by candles.

Scented candles at that.

She peered around the room, trying to locate her husband.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she called out; "Sheldon?"

Right on cue, Sheldon appeared in the hallway, dressed in a black suit.

Spotting Amy, he smiled appreciatively. "I appreciate you making the effort, but how did you know?"

"I-I didn't." Amy stammered, as Sheldon stepped forward and took her hand.

"You might want to lock the door." Sheldon said.

"Okay…" Amy turned around and locked the door, before being led to the couch. "What's the suit for?"

"Just making an effort." Sheldon shrugged. "You look beautiful."

Amy blushed; feeling like it was the early stages of their physical relationship again. "Thank you…Wait, where's Harvey?"

"Howard and Bernadette are looking after him…I gave them everything they need, and specific instructions. They are returning him at 10pm. That gives us just over five hours to ourselves."

Amy grinned. "This is wonderful Sheldon; thank you."

Sheldon leaned in to kiss her tenderly, caressing one cheek with his hand.

Amy kissed back, running her hands through his short, dark hair.

Their kiss grew heated, and Sheldon stood up. "Come with me."

He led her to the bathroom, where the bathtub was half-full and full of bubbles, with candles placed a safe distance away.

Sheldon turned the water on again to heat up the bath water, and helped Amy to take off her dress.

Amy assisted Sheldon in removing his suit, and as they turned off the faucet, they immersed themselves in the warm water, kissing and writing together.

"So…You've still got it." Amy grinned.

"Got what" Sheldon asked.

"Your romantic streak! I thought having a baby would have gotten rid of all that."

"No; once learned, it can never be forgotten…Speaking of which…"

Sheldon, at that moment, pulled Amy on to his lap, and they sat upright as Sheldon carefully inserted into her and rocked her back and forth, rolling his hips with hers.

"We haven't had bath sex in almost a whole year!" Amy breathed.

"I know; I regret that." Sheldon replied.

He leaned back, supporting his weight as he thrust deeper and harder, making Amy moan softly.

His moans matched hers, as he felt orgasm approaching.

"Oh no…Amy I'm going to…"

"It's okay, I'm almost there…"

They both climaxed at the same time, and as Amy released, she also felt the familiar rushing feeling of Sheldon pumping into her; filling her.

Amy leaned down to kiss him. "I'm sorry for being so moody with you." She said now.

"That's alright. I'm sorry I tried to rearrange; I know how much this meant to you. It meant a lot to me too…I feel connected to you again. Tonight will just be about us; I'll cancel on the guys as soon as we're dried up…"

Amy bit her lip. "No."

"No?" Sheldon frowned.

"Yes; I said no. Meet them; it's the least I can do after you arranged all of this, and gave me that amazing sex!" Amy grinned.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well, I was hoping we could have dinner together first," Sheldon said, "and we'd get Harvey back two hours earlier…"

"That's fine." Amy replied softly.

"Thank you Amy." Sheldon smiled, kissing her. "I just feel glad to be back to normal with you."


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N: Sorry for the huge delay in updating. I ran out of ideas! But here it is! ;) Thank you for the reviews.**

**..**

Amy re-appeared at Penny's later that evening after allowing Sheldon to meet the guys to play World of Warcraft.

Penny answered the door to reveal a very mellow-looking Amy.

Penny knew that look anywhere.

"You had sex, didn't you?"

"Just a bit!" Amy grinned.

"Amy! What happened to showing him what he's missing? Did you really cave in that easily?"

"Nope. When I got in, the room was dark and lit by candles. He came out into the hallway and recognized that he had done wrong, apologised for it, told me that Howard and Bernadette were looking after Harvey tonight, and made a romantic evening for me…And yeah we had sex! In the tub…It was amazing!" Amy grinned, giggling girlishly.

"Wow!" Penny was impressed, "That's growth for him! Oh and bath sex? Nice!"

"Yeah…So I told him that it was okay to see the guys tonight after all."

Penny stopped what she was doing and frowned. "You did, huh?"

"Yes…" Amy replied, sensing Penny's cold voice. "Why? Was that wrong?"

"Hmm…Something tells me that Sheldon planned this." Penny muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"He gave you a romantic evening just so you'd leave early and let him see the guys. Oh he is so transparent!" Penny put down her bottle of wine and stormed out of the door, banging on 4A.

"Penny! He wasn't doing that at all…He meant it!" Amy protested, as Sheldon opened the door.

"Hello Penny." He greeted.

"Cut the crap! You planned this, didn't you?" Penny snapped.

Sheldon frowned. "Planned what?"

"You might be able to lie to Amy, smartass, but you don't fool me!"

Sheldon looked so confused, that Amy jumped to his defence. "He didn't plan that, Penny. Honestly!"

"Plan what? Will someone please tell me what Penny is talking about?" He asked, looking so confused that it almost broke Amy's heart.

"Penny thought you only did the romantic evening for me so I'd agree to you seeing the guys after all." Amy said, crossing her arms. "I tried to tell her that wasn't true."

Sheldon looked hurt. "Wow…That hurts, Penny. If that was the case then how come I haven't called them yet to tell them it's back on?"

"What?" Penny blinked.

"I was going to wait for Amy to come back from your place and continue with our romantic evening until Harvey was back."

Penny looked embarrassed. "Oh…Sheldon I'm so sorry. I just thought…"

"You thought I'd reverted back to my old ways. I know what you thought. It's written all over your face and your tone of voice. Not to mention the fact that you stormed over here to accuse me when you had no proof!"

"Sheldon…I'm sorry." Penny tried again.

"Good day Penny." He sniffed, as he let Amy back in and closed the door.

On the other side, Penny frowned. "_Good day?_"

..

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Amy." Sheldon sighed. "Penny lacks social skills."

Amy raised her eyebrows, wanting to point out that not so long ago, Sheldon had been that way himself.

She thought better of it. "Never mind. Let's just continue with our evening. Thank you for doing this."

"You're welcome." Sheldon replied, "We've been so busy and stressed with Harvey I thought we deserved a quiet night to ourselves. You especially." He kissed Amy. "But now I'm stressed again, thanks to Penny!"

Amy smiled and stroked his chest through his shirt. "Well, we could always go for round 2?"

Sheldon stared at her. "Would that help?"

"Sex is a great stress relief." Amy nodded.

"Round 2 it is!" Sheldon decided, taking Amy's hand and leading her to the bedroom and closing the door.

..

At precisely 10 O'clock, there was a knock on the apartment door.

Sheldon and Amy were eating a Chinese in the bedroom, still only in their underwear after a total of three rounds of sex that night!

They had ordered the Chinese shortly after round 2, but had then felt the desire to make love again after it was delivered, and they had just gotten round to eating it.

Sheldon sighed. "Interruptions galore tonight!"

"That'll be Howard and Bernadette with Harvey." Amy replied as she and Sheldon threw on their bathrobes.

"Oh…Then that's fine!" Sheldon shrugged.

They made their way to the door and answered it.

"Hi guys!" Bernie smiled, pushing the baby carriage through the door, containing a sleeping Harvey.

Howard eyed the bathrobes. "Oops! Were we interrupting?"

"No. I don't think I could manage any more than the tree rounds we already had." Sheldon replied.

"Sheldon!" Amy snapped. "Really?!"

"Sorry."

Howard laughed. "Oh come on, we all know that you two are at it like rabbits! That's how this little guy was made!" He peered into the carriage.

Amy and Sheldon blushed.

"Yeah…well…"

"Howie, stop embarrassing them!" Bernadette piped up, "Harvey was good as gold tonight. He finished all his formula and was out like a light at 7:30. He loves his cuddles too!"

"He does!" Amy grinned, "We do Kangaroo care with him because he was so premature. We've been easing him off as he's grown stronger, but he loves to be cuddled."

At the sound of his mother's voice, Harvey stirred and opened his eyes.

He kicked his legs, wanting to be picked up.

Amy reached down and gently lifted him out. "Were you a good boy for Bernie and Howie tonight?" She cooed.

Harvey grinned and squealed.

"He's so cute!" Bernadette smiled. "Which actually leads on to what we want to tell you…"

"Yeah, we want you to be the first to know." Howard pitched in.

Amy and Sheldon looked expectantly at their friends.

"We both decided it's time…" Bernadette grinned, as Howard put his arm around her.

"Time for what?" Amy asked.

"Time to try for our own baby." Howard smiled widely.

"Oh my God! That's amazing!" Amy cried, hugging her friends. "Good luck you guys."

"Yeah…Looking after Cinnamon for Raj and looking after Harvey for you guys kind of made up our minds up!" Bernadette said, excitedly.

"Best of luck to both of you." Sheldon said, as he took Harvey and held him. "I think you'll find it a very rewarding thing."

"Well, that's what we're hoping for." Howard replied. "Anyway, we'll get out of your hair. Have a good night."

"Thanks again." Amy smiled, closing the door behind them. "Aww isn't that sweet? They're planning to have a baby too! I knew they would eventually!"

"They're stealing our thunder." Sheldon replied.

"What?" Amy frowned.

"They want to steal our thunder. At the moment, we're the couple with the cute baby and they want to take the attention off us."

"You're being ridiculous Sheldon. This isn't about attention; it's about having a family with the person you love. Howard and Bernadette have been married longer than us, why shouldn't they have a baby?"

Sheldon had no answer for that.

"Exactly." Amy finished. "Come on. I'm putting Harvey to bed, and then I'm putting you to bed!" She winked, as she took their son back off Sheldon and made her way towards the bedroom.

"As great as that sounds, I'm exhausted and really don't think I have any more left in me." Sheldon groaned, following her.

"I wasn't talking about…S-e-x." Amy replied, covering Harvey's ears. "I meant _literally_ go to bed. To sleep."

"Oh." Sheldon looked embarrassed.

Harvey squirmed and started crying.

"Aww, I'm sorry Harvey. We're putting you to bed now." Amy said, gently stroking the baby's soft, dark hair.

His big blue eyes were filled with tears, clearly unhappy with being woken up and moved from his baby carriage.

Amy placed him in his basket and covered him with the soft blanket, switching on the lullaby machine, letting the soft, jingly music ease the baby back to sleep.

"He'll be able to sleep in a cot soon." She whispered to Sheldon.

"Does that mean he'll be in Leonard's old room now that he's living with Penny?" Sheldon replied.

"Yeah, and we'll have to have a baby monitor in both rooms." Amy nodded.

"I like him being in here." Sheldon answered, "I've gotten used to it now, and this way we can know that he's safe."

"I know, but he will be outgrowing his basket soon." Amy reasoned.

"Then we put the cot in here." Sheldon suggested.

"And where would we put it?"

Sheldon glanced around the room. "Um…"

"Exactly. There is nowhere." Amy said, "Look Sheldon, I don't want him to be in another room just as much as you don't, but he can't sleep in here with us forever."

Sheldon nodded. "I know."

"And we don't have to move him just now…Give it another month."

"But that isn't very long!"

"We need to wean him out of our room at some point. The later we leave it, the less independent he will grow up to be!"

"Well…What if I want him to be more dependent on us?" Sheldon said.

"We have to let him make that decision later on." Amy said softly, "It's not good for his development if we restrict him or make him spend more time with us than he needs to. Besides; we'll have the baby monitor."

"I guess you're right." Sheldon sighed. "I just don't want his prematurity to affect him more than it has. What if it's affected his circulatory or respiratory system? What if one day we go in there and he's not breathing?"

"Sheldon, calm down." Amy soothed. "It's the mother's job to worry like that! He will be fine. He's doing really well, remember?"

Sheldon snorted. "So they say! How do we know for sure?"

"Because they're doctors. They know what they're doing."

"Yeah, I'm a doctor and I know what I'm doing…With science, obviously. But even I'm not ashamed to say that I've made some errors."

"Sheldon, you _are _ashamed to say it; just not to me. Also, just trust me. If not them, at least trust me?" Amy asked.

Sheldon looked at her. "Fine." He said reluctantly. I just don't want to lose him. We almost did once…"

"I know." Amy soothed. "Neither do I, and we won't okay?"

Their talking was making Harvey stir again.

"We're waking him up." Amy whispered, taking Sheldon's hand. "Come on."

She leaned in to kiss Harvey goodnight, followed by Sheldon.

They hastily prepared for bed then climbed in, huddling together before drifting off to sleep.


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for such a huge delay in continuing this, but I had writer's block! :/ And I was so focused on writing The Parental Paradigm. This chapter will be shorter than the others, so sorry about that, but I am still continuing…Just a little lost for ideas, so this will just be a filler chapter. **

**..**

"I don't think this is a good idea." Sheldon sighed.

"We need to wean him; we can't wrap him in bubblewrap forever." Amy reasoned. "Besides, he's had his check-ups and he's strong enough now."

Harvey had been out of Kanga Care for a while now, and tonight they were putting him in his crib in his nursery for the first time.

Amy lowered the baby into the crib, and he immediately started crying.

"No!" Sheldon shook his head and walked over to the side of the crib, but Amy stopped him.

"It's a natural reaction." She said. "We need to soothe him off to sleep, and then he'll be okay."

"I don't like this. It's making him upset."

"This happens to all babies. Trust me…Please?"

Sheldon reluctantly nodded as Amy leaned in to stroke Harvey's dark hair, and turned on the musical mobile.

Harvey's eyes fixated on the mobile, as his parents backed slowly out of the room and closed the door halfway as they returned to their room.

"See?" Amy whispered. "He stopped crying."

"Yes, for now." Sheldon replied. "I don't know; I feel mean doing this."

"How else will he learn to sleep on his own? Do you really want it to be a case of us having a son who still wants to sleep in our room when he's graduated high school?!"

"No."

"Exactly. Now, the music loops for ten minutes; he should be asleep by then." Amy said softly. "And once he's asleep…We can have some alone time." She wrapped her arms around Sheldon's neck and kissed him lovingly.

"Amy…I'm really not in the mood to be intimate tonight." Sheldon said, sadly.

"Okay. Well we can cuddle and kiss, can't we?" Amy countered.

"Of course."

Amy rested her head on Sheldon's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

After a while had passed, Amy looked up at Sheldon.

"He's asleep!" She grinned.

Almost instantly, they heard crying emitting from the baby monitor.

"I'll go." Sheldon said.

"Okay…But remember, we're weaning him." Amy reminded.

Sheldon nodded as he walked into the nursery.

"Hey Harvey." He said softly, "I know you want Mommy and Daddy, but we have to let you sleep alone. I'm sorry." He wound up the mobile again, but Harvey continued to cry.

Sheldon lifted him out and held him for a while, gently rocking him until he finally fell asleep.

Leaning down, Sheldon placed the baby into his crib again, and covered him with the baby blanket.

Returning to his and Amy's room, he sighed.

"I hate leaving him in there."

"So do I," Amy nodded, "especially after everything…But we have to do what's right for his development."

"I guess."

The couple cuddled up together and fell asleep at last.


	68. Chapter 68

_5 years later…_

_.._

Sheldon was sat at his computer with his and Amy's two-year old son on his lap.

"Now, you see Simon, these little ghosts move around the maze, and you have to avoid them at all costs, or they will devour Pac-man." He said.

Simon laughed and leaned forward to press the buttons on Sheldon's keyboard.

Behind them, Amy was on the phone.

"Okay…We'll be there at lunchtime. Thank you for telling us…Goodbye." She ended the call. "Sheldon?"

He turned around.

"Yeah, honey?"

"That was Harvey's school. Mrs Crowforth wants to meet with us at 12:30 whilst the kids are at lunch."

Sheldon frowned. "Why? Has something happened?"

"My big brother bad!" Simon giggled.

"I don't know, sweetie." Amy said. "Come on; let's put your shoes on. We have to go now."

Sheldon helped Simon off his lap and the toddler ran to Amy, who lifted him and carried him into his and Harvey's bedroom.

Within a few minutes, the family were ready and walked out of the door.

"Simon, let one of us carry you down the stairs." Amy said as he jumped up and down by the top of the staircase.

"No!"

"Simon George Cooper, do as you're told!"

The toddler pouted and folded his arms and Sheldon lifted him up to carry him down the stairs.

"What did Mrs Crowforth say she wanted to discuss?" He asked.

"She didn't." Amy replied, "Not in so many words; she said there's a problem regarding Harvey and she needs to meet with us as soon as possible."

Sheldon frowned.

"Harvey is a good boy." He said, "He can't have done anything wrong, surely?"

"We'll have to wait and see." Amy replied, unlocking the car.

..

Arriving at the elementary school a few minutes later, Amy, Sheldon and Simon were led to Mrs Crowforth's classroom.

Amy knocked on the door.

"Hello." Mrs Crowforth smiled, holding out her hand for Amy and Sheldon to shake. "You must be Dr and Dr Cooper?"

"That's us." Sheldon confirmed.

"Come on in…Ah, this must be Simon?" Mrs Crowforth said, spotting the toddler. "Harvey talks a lot about his little brother."

"Harvey been bad?" Simon asked.

"Um…Simon, how about you go play with the soft blocks on the carpet over here while the grown-ups talk?" Mrs Crowforth suggested.

Sheldon set him down on the floor. "Go on. We're just over here." He said, as Simon made his way over to play with the blocks.

"What's Harvey done?" Amy asked, worriedly.

"Well, it's nothing bad," Mrs Crowforth replied. "More…Astonishing, really."

She opened a folder with Harvey's name on it and pulled out some papers.

"I've never seen anything like it."

She pushed the papers towards Amy and Sheldon, and they picked up some of the pieces of paper, reading them.

"As you can see, Harvey's class work is…Well, it's even higher than Above Average. At five years old, he is producing work equivalent to that of a 3rd-grader." Mrs Crowforth said. "He has the mental age of an 8-9 year old; maybe older."

Sheldon and Amy shouldn't have been surprised, but they were.

"Uh…My husband was a child prodigy." Amy explained. "As was I…I had no idea it could be passed genetically. I mean, we knew his development was rapid right from when I was expecting him. He would respond to noises and voices very early on whilst in utero, and he was born premature. So this really is a shock!"

Mrs Crowforth smiled.

"You wouldn't think he was premature." She said, "He's taller than his classmates, too. We've never had anything like this here."

Sheldon smiled proudly.

"And what kind of behaviour is he displaying?" He asked.

"Well, he completed kindergarten level work within the first two weeks of being here! We tried him on first grade work and the same happened there, and also with second grade work. He's ploughing his way through third grade worksheets, too. He's eager to answer questions in class; he maintains healthy friendships and relationships with his peers and with teachers. As you know, he won the Lower School Science Project Competition last month. His reading, grammar and arithmetic are impeccable…And I'm sure he's told you he has a little girlfriend here?"

Amy and Sheldon laughed.

"You're kidding?" Amy grinned.

Mrs Crowforth shook her head.

"Nope; she's a very pretty, and very smart little blonde girl called Daisy. Harvey is a very good-looking little boy; all of the girl in class are chasing after him, but he only wants Daisy." She laughed.

"Ah yes; Daisy is our friends' daughter; Leonard and Penny Hofstadter. And Harvey's being raised to respect women, so he will find one woman and stay with her, much like I did." Sheldon explained, smiling at Amy. "So, in regards to his education, what do we do now? Do we keep him in Kindergarten?"

Mrs Crowforth took a breath. "I don't think that would be ideal." She said, thoughtfully. "He's far too advanced for the Kindergarten curriculum... Or first or second grade, for that matter. We think Harvey would be better suited to third grade, if you were to agree with that. Daisy will also be put up a grade or two, but at the moment, Harvey is without doubt our star student. We think he's actually influenced Daisy, too."

Amy and Sheldon grinned, proud of their son.

After a very uncertain start to his life, he had stunned everyone by developing and advancing beyond his years.

They looked at each other and knew the answer straight away.

"Yes, we'd agree to moving him up." Amy clarified.

"One thing though, Mrs Crowforth…" Sheldon piped up. "Our experiences in school, be it elementary, middle school or high school, were not…Let's just say they weren't the best for us social-wise. We're worried that Harvey will become a target for bullying, too."

Amy nodded in agreement.

"In this school, and our neighboring middle school, we crack down very hard on bullying; it won't be tolerated, I can promise you that. We will not have students making others feel uncomfortable or interrupt their learning. If Harvey does become a victim to bullying, I assure you action _will_ be taken." Mrs Crowforth replied, firmly.

"Then I think that settles it." Amy shrugged, "We'd be thrilled to move our son up a few grades."

"Excellent. Well, we can meet with the principal and the third grade teachers next week sometime, and discuss it further." Mrs Crowforth smiled. "You've done a remarkable job at raising and teaching your boys. I hope to teach Simon one day, but as far as I can tell, they're both a credit to you and you should be proud."

Sheldon and Amy smiled. "Thank you."

"Okay. That's all settled, then." Mrs Crowforth closed her folder and arranged a date to meet with the other teachers, before Amy and Sheldon called Simon over and stood up to leave.

"Thank you for coming; it was a pleasure to meet with you."

Amy and Sheldon shook the teacher's hand and thanked her, before leaving with Simon and heading back home.

..

Once Harvey was home from school later that afternoon, Sheldon and Amy asked him to sit on the armchair so they could speak to him.

Harvey sat on the chair whilst his parents sat on the couch, turning to face him.

"Do you know why we've called you here?" Amy asked.

Harvey shook his head. "Have I done something bad?"

"No, of course not. Quite the opposite, actually."

"Your teacher is very impressed with you, Harvey." Sheldon said. "You're much too smart for Kindergarten, so we met your teacher today to discuss moving you up to third grade. Would you like that?"

"But what about my friends?"

"You can still see them. We can keep in touch, can't we? And you can invite them over to play."

"My friends and I don't play." Harvey said, "We learn and observe stuff."

"Okay, well they can come and learn with you here; mommy and I are both scientists, and we know lots of things. Maybe we can think up some activities for you and your friends to do whilst they're here." Sheldon suggested. "What do you think?"

Harvey nodded.

"We heard about your girlfriend. She can come over any time." Amy added.

"Daisy and I love each other."

"Do you?"

"Yes. We are getting married and having our own lab together."

"That's great Harvey, but you need to finish school first." Sheldon said, "So what do you say? You want to join the big kids in third grade? The work will be more challenging, but it's entirely up to you."

Harvey nodded again, smiling. "Yes please."

"Good boy. Why don't you go read your Jungle Animals book with Simon while mommy and I talk?"

Harvey got down from the chair and took his little brother by the hand as they walked into their room.

Amy exhaled. "Well, look at that." She said, "Our hypothesis was right; we _did_ produce a child genius!"

"It was inevitable." Sheldon replied. "We're both brilliant, why shouldn't our children be?"

"I'm glad that you're so modest." Amy laughed.

Sheldon just grinned.

"So…Do we add to our family?"

"What?" Amy asked, shocked.

"Should we have another child?"

"Oh…Um…"

Sheldon smiled. "It's fine. If you don't want to, then two is great, obviously. We have two brilliant sons. I mean, we'll be forty in a couple years' time, and I guess that's a little late to try again. I mean who knows when we'll be shipping these two off to college?! We'll need a…"

"Yes."

Sheldon blinked. "Yes?"

"Yes." Amy nodded. "I'd love another baby. I've been so broody lately since Howard and Bernadette had their second baby. And like you said once before; in these uncertain times, we should gift humanity with our offspring."

"Actually, the word I used was 'progeny'…"

"Shut up." Amy kissed him. "I'll stop taking my birth control and we can try again. Maybe we can have a girl this time?"

"We don't get to choose." Sheldon laughed, putting his arms around her waist and pressing his forehead to hers. "But I'll try."

..

**The end!**

**..**

**A/N: Again, sorry for the delay in continuing this. I've been busy with my other fic, and have had writer's block on this one. I wrapped up the story in this chapter, but I'd like to thank all of you who have read this fic and reviewed, and been supportive throughout. It's been fun! :) I might do a sequel soon, focusing on Harvey and Simon and how they get on at pre-school and school, and The Shamy trying for another baby. It's up to you guys? Thanks again for reading :)**


End file.
